Promoting women as leaders of disaster recovery
By Meenakshi Ahluwalia, Gender and Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist, BCPR

In times of crisis, it is often marginalized populations, such as women and children, who suffer most. In some countries, gender differences and socio-economic inequalities make women particularly vulnerable to natural hazards. Women can also be at greater risk of violence and inequity during recovery from natural disasters. Some natural disasters, such as droughts, can place an undue burden on women who are responsible for providing water and food for households.

It is critical to address women’s issues in both disaster risk reduction and recovery, as disasters do not affect men, women and children equally. A 2006 study by the Center for Research in the Epidemiology of Disasters found that women's mortality was higher following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami due to several factors, including the fact that many women were unable to swim . A recent study by the London School of Economics, the University of Essex and the Max-Planck Institute of Economics looked at a sample of 141 countries in which natural disasters occurred during the period 1981-2002. Findings indicate that natural disasters lower women’s life expectancy more than men’s.

But disasters can also be an opportunity to break these inequalities and build on women’s resilience. I recall one woman from Sri Lanka who was so distressed by the loss of one of her daughters in the 2004 tsunami that she carried a photograph of the girl to every community meeting and reminded people to keep looking for her, just in case she survived. Despite all odds, this woman also rose above her loss and found an opportunity to help her family recover by selling homemade snacks to construction workers. Another example can be found in India where the non-governmental organization Swayam Shikshan Prayog, facilitates the involvement of women’s groups in monitoring disaster reconstruction efforts. The organization also helps women’s groups liaise with national authorities to ensure that mechanisms in place to address grievances following a disaster take both men and women’s needs into account.

While there is an increasing recognition that women’s talents and resilience in post-disaster recovery need to be nurtured, much more still needs to be done to help women diversify and improve their skills to enable them to earn higher incomes. Having recently joined UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, this is one of the areas I intend to focus on in my support to countries affected by crisis. CPR

Photo caption: Woman from Philippines. Source: UNICEF/Judith P. Davis

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In this Issue

> Six months after Cyclone Nargis
> Success story: Indonesia
> Lessons from Bangladesh
> Natural disasters in Kyrgystan
> Women and disaster recovery
> Natural disasters in Armenia
> Spotlight on Staff

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> Natural Disaster Risk Reduction
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> Donor proposal on Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (pdf)