Women's participation in disaster relief and recovery

This article explores the gender-differentiated effects of natural disasters. It aims to fill a gap in understanding issues such as women's losses relative to men's, how women's work time and conditions change, both in terms of care-giving and income-generating work, or how disaster-related aid and entitlement programmes include or marginalise affected women. Similarly, there is a lack of information on how affected low-income women can participate in post disaster relief and recovery and secure decent housing, livelihoods, and the restoration of basic services for themselves and for their families. The study also examines the roles that NGOs and government policy and procedures play in facilitating (or impeding) women's involvement.

The paper uses detailed case studies from three earthquake-stricken areas in India and Turkey to highlight how postdisaster situations can be opportunities to empower women at the grassroots level, build more resilient communities, and initiate long-term social change and development. They show how low-income women who have lost everything can form groups and become active participants in the relief and recovery process, such as being involved in housing, creating businesses, mobilising funds, and providing crucial community services. They also illustrate how NGOs can focus on facilitating and partnering to leverage resources and thereby stimulate affected women’s groups to scale up and sustain their energy and organisation over the cycle of relief to reconstruction.

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PUBLISHER About: Population Council, USA

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