Vandana Shiva and 《Staying Alive》

Yuxin Shen
Apr 19, 2017
2 min read

In the history of sustainability, there were several heroes dedicated to this field and brought impact to the history. Vandana Shiva, the author of this book called “Staying Alive”, was one of them. This article will briefly introduce some background of Shiva, whom I found very impressible on her life path and the work she’s done.

Vandana Shiva was born in India in 1952. Her father worked as a conservator for forests, and her mother was a farmer.

About her education background, she was a physics major and got her bachelor of science degree and master of science degree in Panjab University in Chandigarh. She went to Canada and finished her M.A. in the philosophy of science major. And finally she completed her PhD in philosophy, focusing on physics perspective at University of Western Ontario.

Even though her educational background wasn’t directly related to environmental science, she mentioned during one of the interview that

“I did physics because of my love of nature. As a young student of science, I was taught that physics was the way to learn nature. So my travels through physics really are the same urges that make me travel through ecology. They are not really different, except that there is an added dimension of seeing ecological destruction and seeing the very life-support system that makes us survive on this planet being destroyed. That makes me do more than just inquire; it compels me to act and to intervene”(Scott).

By this, her physics background brings her more passion on sustainable field. Also she was born in a feminist family, that makes she start to work on women’s issues, such as inequality, justice, and ecology. With her physics background, she sees the problems from a scientific inquiry into nature through physics.

Through her book Staying Alive, Shiva made gender issues nationally and internationally recognized. The book dramatically shifts popular perceptions of Third World women. Some movements and impacts brought by this was quoted “She founded the gender unit at the International Centre for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu, and was a founding Board Member of the Women Environment and Development Organization (WEDO). Dr. Shiva has also initiated Diverse Women for Diversity, an international movement of women working for food and agriculture. The movement was launched formally in Bratislava, Slovakia, in May 1998”(Seed Sovereignty).

She also had some impacts internationally, such as surfing as advising governments worldwide, and currently working with the Government of Bhutan to make Bhutan 100% organic. She is also working with the Governments of Tuscany and Rome to create a hopeful and livable future for young people in these times of crises.

From a physics major to sustainability activist, Shiva continually shows her passion and brings impact to this world. As one of the few female activists in this field, she contributed a lot to address ecofeminism, which is also highlighted in this book Staying Alive.