WUNRN
PAKISTAN - ONE YEAR AFTER THE
FLOODS, MASSIVE LOSSES & DISPLACEMENT, CHALLENGES CONTINUE FOR WOMEN TO
REBUILD LIVES
Villagers
move to safety from a flooded village near Nowshera, in
_______________________________________________________
PAKISTAN - ONE YEAR AFTER THE
FLOODS, WOMEN CONTINUE
THEIR STRUGGLE TO REBUILD THEIR
LIVES & LIVELIHOODS
Asian Human Rights Commission – August 24, 2011
By Bushra Khaliq
One year ago during the months of July and August the floodwaters that ravaged
the southern parts of
The devastation caused by the 2010 floods was the worst in
Although many flood refugees have returned homes little is known to the world
about their miserable conditions and stories of struggle, to combat the
horrific effects on lives and livelihoods. Particularly the women who are the
worst-hit still face multiple challenges after one year. Their work burden is
multiplied. While husbands and male members in poor families, being daily
wagers, are struggling to find sources of livelihood, women remain busy in
rebuilding their damaged shelters and dwellings. In small villages and hamlets,
one can find these women doing brick work and plastering their mud and half
cemented houses. The brave ones who have done the reconstruction work are out
in the fields to assist their husbands. Rest or respite seems rare thing to
them.
Their lost possessions have been replaced at higher costs or not at all. Many
marriageable girls who lost their dowries and valuables are making a fresh
start to make it again to get marry. To address the issue a new culture of
collective marriages is gaining ground, which was earlier unknown to these
areas. Unfortunately, the phenomenon is giving rise to another social trend of
early girl marriages. Though the custom of girls' early marriages is already
present in
Another particular problem is women's health, which is generally ignored.
Although during the floods, pregnant women had the opportunity to avail
themselves facilities of ante-natal and post natal care, provided through
emergency medical camps, but the moment the relief phase was over, these women
were left in conditions, much vulnerable to reproductive-related diseases.
Moreover, women and children are also facing nutritional problems on account of
non-availability of proper healthy diet. Those who lost their livestock are in
fact deprived of milk and a permanent source of livelihood.
The compensation money from the government
has been unevenly distributed. Widows and female-headed families faced
discrimination in distribution of Watan cards (relief money) and rehabilitation
programs. Despite tall claims the Government has failed to decrease the rising
vulnerability level of poverty among women after one year. While donors
promises of some $600 million in aid have not arrived. As a result squeezing
livelihood options coupled with price hikes are impacting the poor families and
women in worst manner.
Last month when I revisited Dera Shahwala, a small village of district
Muzaffargarh, one of the worst-hit areas in southern
A flood affectee, here, Myriam Bibi recalled that flood water washed away
everything in the house and she lost most of what was inside and now lives in a
newly erected small room while her children were sent away to stay with
relatives. She is rebuilding her house brick by brick with the help of her
husband who contributed his free time after his day's labor. The work is
progressing slowly and for the most part the house remains a roofless ruin.
"Relatives and friends help us, but not everyone is so lucky. It is very
difficult to rebuild our life," she said. "I don’t see in the coming
two/three years that I will have my house completely rebuilt."
Aysha Bibi, a young mother of five and wife of a farm worker, said floods,
however 'natural', were profoundly discriminatory, where they hit, they impact
different people with different degrees of misery. Some people were more
affected than others. We lost our dwelling and the only cow; now we cannot
purchase a new one. I cannot provide milk to my children. Whatever money we
had, is spent on reconstruction of our home.
Another resident, Zohra Begum said her
7-member family moved in the immediate aftermath. "We have a small piece
of land where me and my 16-year daughter have to work longer hours to assist my
tilling husband. We owe debt to our relatives and we have to repay it. My two
children who used to go school are now supposed to be at home to look after the
siblings. When we first got here there were facilities for us. But they have
since been taken away. Now people just come and talk and talk but they do not
give us any help."
False rumors of massive floods are also leaving residents on edge. People have
sleepless nights in some areas near Indus. “It is a mental torture when we are
hearing that there might be another monsoon flood,” said 36-year-old Parveen,
who is still struggling to rebuild her damaged home.
____________________________________________________________________
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Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 9:55 AM
Subject: Pakistan - Women Cope with Crisis of Massive Floods &
Displacement
WUNRN
PAKISTAN - WOMEN COPE WITH
CRISIS OF MASSIVE FLOODS & DISPLACEMENT
Massive flooding in
At least 291 people
have died in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, in the country's northwest, since
Wednesday, said Mujahid Khan of the Edhi Foundation, a privately run rescue
service that operates morgues and ambulances across the South Asian country.
Provincial officials
called the flooding the worst in 90 years.
Residents
and shopkeepers wade through a flooded street with their belongings after heavy
rains in
Under-equipped rescue
workers have struggled to reach up to 400,000 stranded villagers, while the
highway connecting
There are also only
48 boats available for rescue.
Pakistani TV showed
striking images of people clinging to fences and other stationary items as
water at times gushed over their heads.
In
Pakistani-controlled
The death toll from
the deluge was expected to rise because many people were still missing. Poor
weather this week also may have been a factor in Wednesday's Airblue plane
crash that killed 152 people in
In the
A newly constructed
part of a dam in the Charsadda district collapsed, while the UN said it had
reports of 5,000 homes underwater in that area.