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Natural disasters, women's vulnerabilities

Audity Falguni Gayen
THE widely acclaimed English poem "The Sands of Dee" by Charles Kingsley narrates the tale of a pretty girl named Mary who would bring home her family's cattle that grazed in the sands of the river Dee. One day Mary went out but never returned. A few days later some boatmen saw the glint of the golden tresses of a beautiful maiden. The poem ends with the supernatural echo of Mary's calling the cattle home still resonating along the coast line.
3,500 people died in cyclone SIDR (2007), most of whom were women and children. Interviews, field surveys and research works carried out by different national and international NGOs and media revealed several reasons behind higher ratio of women's deaths in SIDR.
First, the traditional long hair of rural Bengali women and ends of feminine costumes like saree or orna got entangled with the huge stems and branches of large trees uprooted during the storm. This prevented many women from reaching a safer abode even though they could swim.
Second, when the men fled for safe shelter during the storm, they did not take their
women with them. Rather they ordered women to look after crops and livestock. Even in cases where the men were out of home for work, women themselves decided to stay in home to protect the crops and livestock as ghar er lakhkhi (angel in the house).
Third, a number of women also did not rush for safety because men did not return home and it is the custom not to go out without the permission of the 'male' guardians.
Local, national and International NGOs have been offering disaster preparedness training to the men and women in coastal villages since after SIDR. Women are being trained to make a high knot of their hair and wrap it in cloth during storms or cyclones. Today this disaster preparedness training is highly relevant for the coastal men and women.
For example, a 18-feet high tsunami was supposed to hit Barguna on April 11 soon after the tsunami in Indonesia with the mild earthquake at Dhaka. I was staying that night in Barguna. A large storm did strike on the April 10 night. Everybody in this small coastal town had already been informed about the imminent tsunami through community radio. I was advised by my office to rush to our three storied office building before the tsunami hit. But, thanks God, another SMS from Dhaka office said that the tsunami had crossed the Bangladesh coast.
It is estimated that 40% of the total world population lives within 100km of a coasdine (UNDP, 2000). Approximately 4.72 millions hectares of land under 147 upazillas of 19 districts (Bagerhat, Barguna, Barisal, Bhola, Chandpur, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Gopalganj, Jessore, Jhalokathi, Khulna,
Lakshmipur, Narail, Noakhali, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira and Shariatpur) belong to the coastal zone of Bangladesh.
The size of the female population is 17.1 million compared to the male population of 17.9 million in the Coastal Zone (CZ). It is estimated that this female population in CZ is expected to grow to 20.7 million in 2015.
Just like in the other parts of Bangladesh, the rate of girl child mortality is higher than boy child mortality in the Coastal Zone (CZ) areas. The disproportion between boys and girls immediately after birth may be a reflection of the social neglect of the girl child, perceived severity of the antenatal and post natal complications, poor delivery care, early marriage and lower nutritional status as a whole.
However, the yearly cyclones and natural disasters lead the women of CZ to internal migration within country challenging the 'non-mobile' image of the women.
The CZ provides 33% or 17.4 million (BBS, 2002) of the total national labour force of 53.5 million. Of this, 37% are female. Various research reports suggest that low female wage rate is a vulnerability factor among the female rural wage laborers in coastal areas. Severe child malnutrition in CZ is slightly higher at 6% than the national average of 5%. In CZ it is higher in girls at 8% than in boys standing at 4%.
The state of reproductive health among coastal women is worse than elsewhere in Bangladesh. Nearly 96% as against 92% (national average) women have home deliveries. Most cases of acid throwing and rape cases remain unreported to the police as the law and order situation in coastal areas remain precarious.
On April 18,1 met some Sitara Begum at the ferry ghat of the Amtoli river while going from Dhaka to Barguna via Patuakhali. This lady has lost her fisherman husband in SIDR who was in the mid sea during the cyclone and did not return back. She has also lost her two sisters and one child. Of her three children, two adolescent sons are still alive.
Sitara now works as a daily labourer and
her sons help her by rickshaw pulling and fishing. "Our region is the area of storms and sea surges. Our parents have witnessed the huge cyclone of 1970.1 was yet to born then. But I have seen SIDR and AILA. One sea cyclone comes and hundreds of mothers loss their children. Many families get ruined. I am hearing that this year may witness another large cyclone. What will happen to us then?"
As an humble development professional, I implore the government, donor countries, media, national and international development agencies to work in a more pragmatic, innovative and holistic approach to meet the goal of disaster preparedness for coastal men and women.
The writer is a Development Professional.
Email: audity.falguni@gmall.com