Women's Resilient Strategies in Extreme Events: Lessons from Bangladesh
摘要
Climate change is a “non-traditional” security concern that not only exacerbates the dangers but is itself a threat to international peace and security. Bangladesh, located in South Asia, mostly bears the brunt of climate change. And, women especially become both the victim and the caregiver. Socio-economic inequality, cultural stereotypes, socially constructed gendered division of labor and public–private dichotomy exaggerate the vulnerabilities of women during extreme events. During these hazards, women play a crucial role in minimizing the vulnerabilities and ensuring the survival of their whole family. Most of the time they play a “triple role” that refers to reproductive, productive, and community-managing tasks. After disasters, women also place themselves at the center to repair their homes and the damages that took place. This study adopted the qualitative phenomenological research approach. We gathered data from women's in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in the northern region of Bangladesh while identifying secondary literature to explore the resilient mechanisms of women. This paper analyses the coping strategies of women from the socio-economic and security perspectives. Moreover, this paper reviews the structural barriers that make the resilient process hard for women while outlining some inclusion policies that might make women more resilient within disaster-prone environments.