Bangladesh

Citation:

Amin, Sakib Bin, and Saanjaana Rahman. 2019. “Linkages Between Women and Energy Sector in Bangladesh.” In Energy Resources in Bangladesh: Trends and Contemporary Issues, 89–92. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Authors: Sakib Bin Amin, Saanjaana Rahman

Abstract:

Energy and women can be interrelated in many ways. The nature of the energy resource base, the features of the household, the effectiveness of energy policy and the position of women in the households can affect the relationship between energy and women. Women are usually deprived in Bangladesh regarding ownership and access to land, natural resources, credit, information and decision-making, at all levels. The energy industry is one of the most gender imbalanced sectors across the world. This hinders the development process of the developing and transition countries. Since the goal of Bangladesh government is to ensure everyone has access to sustainable energy, it is important for policymakers to understand the crucial and vital connection between gender and sustainable energy. To bridge the gender knowledge gap of macro energy projects, an initiative needs to be taken to unite mitigation practitioners to share optimum practices and insights into mainstreaming gender in the renewable energy sector. Incorporating gender perspectives into energy projects, policy and planning are essential to ensuring their effectiveness.

Keywords: gender, women, rural, Bangladesh, development, cooking, renewable, policy, energy

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gender Balance, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Households, Infrastructure, Energy Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Ayeb-Karlsson, Sonja. 2020. "When the Disaster Strikes: Gendered (Im)mobility in Bangladesh." Climate Risk Management 29.

Author: Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson

Abstract:

Gender influences people’s behaviour in various ways. This study investigates gendered (im) mobility during cyclone strikes in Bangladesh. During such strikes people have described being unable to move away from environmentally high-risk locations and situations. The Q-based Discourse Analysis used by this study shows how and why gender-roles (im)mobilised people in three coastal locations during the cyclones. People (and especially women) explained that failing to evacuate to the cyclone shelters when a disaster strikes was not uncommon. Gender, or feminine and masculine social roles, played a significant role in these evacuation decisions while facilitating or constraining their mobility. The gendered subjectivities presented different accepted social behaviours and spaces for women and men. In this way, immobility (social, psychological, and geographical) was strongly gendered. Masculine roles were expected to be brave and protective, while female ‘mobility’ could be risky. Women’s mobility therefore ended up being constrained to the home. In other words, when the disaster strikes, everyone did not have the same ability to move. These empirical insights are important to inform climate policy in a way that it better supports vulnerable populations worldwide as they confront global environmental changes today and in the future.

Keywords: disaster, (im)mobility, non-evacuation behaviour, trapped populations

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gender Roles, Femininity/ies, Households Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2020

Citation:

Alam, Khurshed, and Md. Habibur Rahman. 2019. "Post-Disaster Recovery in the Cyclone Aila Affected Coastline of Bangladesh: Women's Role, Challenges and Opportunities." Natural Hazards 96: 1067-90.

Authors: Khurshed Alam, Md. Habibur Rahman

Abstract:

The present study deals with the gender aspects of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) situation in post-cyclone Aila period in Bangladesh. Data were collected using participatory approaches like individual interview, key informant interview, focus group discussion and field level observation. Study reveals that after Aila, women had to travel 500 m–2 km per day to fetch water from safe water sources spending 30–90 min. People used pit and hanging latrines, uncovered water framed latrines as well as had open defecation. Considering the impromptu needs, government and other aid-giving agencies focused on immediate WaSH programme. The paper is an outcome of a critical assessment of those arduous efforts made to overcome the WaSH challenges after Aila, particularly women’s role in and challenges faced by them to improving the situation. Also attempt has been made to examine the opportunities and challenges of sustainability of WaSH programme pursued in the post-disaster period. For recovery of the WaSH system, a two-part strategy was followed where one was to make technology (tubewell, pond and filter, saline purification and rainwater harvesting plants) that supporting social arrangement and another was social arrangement (group formation, capacity building on construction, operation and maintenance) that supporting technology. A techno-social contingent model has been followed for addressing the post-disaster WaSH situation following a WasH approach. Women’s these roles in meeting the households’ WaSH requirements might be called WaSH-feminism. The main finding is that although there was a technical challenge to overcome the water and sanitation crises, after the disaster a set of appropriate technologies could remove it considerably, but a corresponding social arrangement was required there to operate it. Many kinds of technical and social limiting factors were there for women that could be removed partly but not totally.

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Feminisms, Gender, Women, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

De Pinto, Alessandro, Gregory Seymour, Elizabeth Bryan, and Prapti Bhandary. 2019. Women's Empowerment and Crop Diversification in Bangladesh: A Possible Pathway to Climate Change Adaptation and Better Nutrition. 1849. Washington, D.C.: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Authors: Alessandro De Pinto, Gregory Seymour, Elizabeth Bryan, Prapti Bhandary

Abstract:

The existing literature shows that climate change will likely affect several of the dimensions that determine people’s food security status in Bangladesh, from crop production to the availability of food products and their accessibility. Crop diversification represents a farm-level response that reduces exposure to climate-related risks and it has also been shown to increase diet diversity and contribute to the reduction in micronutrient deficiencies. In fact, the Government of Bangladesh has several policies in place that encourage and support agricultural diversification. However, despite this support the level of crop diversification in the country remains low. Women empowerment has been linked to diversified diets and positively associated with better child nutrition outcomes. Furthermore, although traditionally their role in agriculture tends to be undervalued, women involvement has already been shown to affect agricultural production choices and enhance technical efficiency. This paper connects three different areas of inquiry - climate change, gender and nutrition – by exploring whether women’s empowerment in agricultural production leads to increased diversification in the use of farmland. Specifically, we use a series of econometric techniques to evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence to claim that a higher levels of empowerment lead to greater diversity in the allocation of farmland to agricultural crops. Our results reveal that indeed some aspects of women empowerment, but not all, lead to a more diversified use of farmland and to a transition for cereal production to other uses like vegetables and fruits. These findings provide some possible pathways for gender-sensitive interventions that promote crop diversity as a risk management tool and as a way to improve the availability of nutritious crops.

Topics: Agriculture, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Women, Security, Food Security Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Ara, Mst Jesmin. 2019. "The Role of the Microcredit Program in Women's Empowerment in a Natural Disaster-Prone Area of Bangladesh: A Critical Analysis." International Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Research 5 (3).

Author: Mst Jesmin Ara

Abstract:

Natural disasters such as cyclone and flood in the coastal areas of Bangladesh has become a common phenomenon, especially since the last two decades due to the impact of global climate change and global warming. The impacts of natural disasters among the residents of coastal areas are enormous. They face huge financial loss due to the unemployment, deaths of domestic animals, lower crop productions, broken or affected houses, and so on. In addition, they become vulnerable both physically and psychologically during and post-disaster period. However, the impacts of the natural disasters are not the same over men and women. Women become more vulnerable due to their double duties, lack of safety, and for the patriarchal nature of society. The microcredit organizations arguably try to reduce the vulnerabilities of these women by providing short-term loan and also claim to empower them. Therefore, the study emphasizes whether these women are, in reality, becoming empowered. The study was conducted among 384 women who were purposively selected from 6367 households in Southkhali Union, Sarankhola Upazila (sub-district), Bagherhat district, Bangladesh. Results show the overwhelming majority of the participants (90%) were somehow affected by the last natural disaster, either by a cyclone or flood. Regarding the usage of microcredit, the majority of the participants (57%) who are the receivers of microcredit could not use the money independently, as their husbands took the loan from them forcefully. And only 8% of them could invest the microcredit in productive activity such as starting a small business. It is worth noting that 82% of the participants mentioned that their engagement with the microcredit organizations could not change their role in the family, e.g., they could participate in the decision making procedure within the household.

Keywords: natural disaster, empowerment, microcredit, women, Bangladesh

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Households, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Shahriar, Abu Zafar M., and Dean A. Shepherd. 2019. "Violence against Women and New Venture Initiation with Microcredit: Self-Efficacy, Fear of Failure, and Disaster Experiences." Journal of Business Venturing 34 (6).

Authors: Abu Zafar M. Shahriar, Dean A. Shepherd

Abstract:

Domestic violence is the most prevalent form of gender-based violence that threatens the wellbeing and dignity of women. In this paper, we examine whether and how exposure to physical or sexual assault by male partners influences women's decision to initiate a new business when they have access to financing. We collected primary data from rural Bangladesh in collaboration with a microfinance institution that provided small collateral-free loans to a group of married women. We conducted a baseline survey before loan disbursement and then conducted a follow-up survey 12 to 15 months later to collect information on loan usage. We find that women who experienced physical or sexual violence by their husband before receiving a loan are less likely to initiate a new business with their loan than those who did not experience such violence. Exposure to domestic violence obstructs the initiation of new businesses through reduced entrepreneurial self-efficacy and increased fear of business failure. The adverse impact of domestic violence is more detrimental for women who recently experienced another potentially traumatic event—an environmental disaster—than for those without such an experience.

Keywords: domestic violence, women's entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, fear of business failure, environmental disaster, microcredit

Topics: Economies, Domestic Violence, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender-Based Violence, Sexual Violence, SV against Women, Violence Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Akmam, Wardatul, Shubhana Lina Hasin, and Md. Fakrul Islam. 2020. "Gender and Age as Factors in Disaster Vulnerability: A Study of River Erosion Victims in Bogra District, Bangladesh." In Environmental Economics and Computable General Equilibrium Analysis, edited by John R. Madden, Hiroyuki Shibusawa, and Yoshio Higano, 395-414. Singapore: Springer Singapore.

Authors: Wardatul Akmam, Shubhana Lina Hasin, Md. Fakrul Islam

Abstract:

This study endeavors to measure the vulnerability of individuals to the erosion of Jamuna River in two unions (Kornibari and Kutubpur) within Sariakandi Upazila of Bogra district, Bangladesh and discover the factors that are associated with such vulnerability. The data were collected from 218 respondents using social survey methods, who were selected purposively in order to represent different age groups (e.g., 13–19 years, 20–40 years, 41–60 years, and more than 60 years) and the two genders (male and female). SPSS and Microsoft Excel software have been used for processing and analyzing data. Individual was the unit of analysis. Vulnerability level of each of the respondents has been calculated. Findings show that on the basis of the model and indicators used in this study to calculate vulnerability, 76.1% of the respondent riverbank erosion victims belonged to the “more vulnerable” group assuming a value between 0–1 and 23.9% to the “less vulnerable” group assuming a value between -1 and 0. Chi-square test results reveal a significant association between the level of vulnerability and age, being solvent, family income, having access to financial institutions, getting the help of neighbors, having completed at least 5 years of schooling, having sources of income other than agriculture and having experienced erosion more than once. However, gender was not found to be significantly associated with vulnerability.

Keywords: disaster, vulnerability, factors associated with vulnerability, gender, age, riverbank erosion victim, exposure, adaptive capacity, sensitivity

Topics: Age, Economies, Education, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2020

Citation:

Hasan, Md. Robiul, Mahbuba Nasreen, and Md. Arif Chowdhury. 2019. "Gender-Inclusive Disaster Management Policy in Bangladesh: A Content Analysis of National and International Regulatory Frameworks." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 41.

Authors: Md. Robiul Hasan, Mahbuba Nasreen, Md. Arif Chowdhury

Abstract:

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters in the world. Women, children, elderly, persons with disabilities, and adolescent girls hold the record of being most susceptible to disasters. For ensuring an inclusive disaster risk management, it is essential to include a gender perspective in the national and international policy and regulatory frameworks. The main objective of the study is to examine the status of the inclusion of gender in disaster management processes in the national and international policies and legal documents from the perspective of Bangladesh. In this research, content analysis of national and international policies and legal frameworks was conducted using text mining technique. Ten crucial issues were identified from the available secondary sources such as documents, research publications, and reports. After conducting an assessment of the issues, scoring was done in three categories: mostly, moderately, and marginally addressed issues. Although gender issues have not been addressed at a similar pace, it is revealed that access to early warning system and women empowerment are mostly discussed by the legal frameworks. Also, identification and assessment of gender-related needs, assurance of gender-based income opportunities and equal participation in decision-making issues are addressed moderately. On the other hand, a specific mechanism for gender-inclusive access to relief system, combating gender-based violence, ensuring gender-based security in the shelter, and access to information and resources are marginally addressed. To facilitate gender-inclusive disaster management in Bangladesh, all of the gender-related issues need to be appropriately addressed at the local, national, and international levels.

Keywords: disaster management, national legal frameworks, international legal frameworks, gender, content analysis, Bangladesh

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Roy, Sajal. 2019. Climate Change Impacts on Gender Relations in Bangladesh. Singapore: Springer Publications Inc.

Author: Sajal Roy

Annotation:

Summary:
This book explores gendered perceptions of the Sundarbans Forest in Bangladesh, and the extent to which these perceptions are affected by extreme weather events (specifically, cyclones Aila and Sidr). Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Shora, a rural village in southern Satkhira, Bangladesh, the book explores gendered activities in the forest, especially women’s interaction with the forest resources. The findings present a clear picture of the Shora community’s local knowledge about the Sundarbans Forest, as well as the ecological and economic contributions for the forest people. The book makes a timely contribution to the wider study of gender, post-cyclone recovery, ecology and resilience. (Summary from Springer)

Topics: Economies, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2019

Citation:

Alston, Margaret. 2019. "Gender, Politics, and Water in Australia and Bangladesh." In People and Climate Change: Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Social Justice, edited by Lisa Reyes Mason and Jonathan Rigg, 165-83. New York: Oxford University Press.

Author: Margaret Alston

Keywords: water, gender, women, policy, Australia, Bangladesh

Annotation:

Summary:
In the wake of climate change, environmental degradation, and increasing global populations, food and water security are under threat throughout the world. This chapter focuses on the impacts of climate change on water security in Australia and Bangladesh, noting in particular the gendered implications and the way policies influence and shape gendered responses. In Bangladesh, for example, following disasters, access to safe, uncontaminated water may involve women walking significant distances. Australian research has examined the impact of water policies on gendered livelihood strategies as farming families readjust to their reduced access to irrigation water. A critical feature of this chapter is an examination of the way water has become “commodified” and reconfigured around new forms of market value. The chapter poses questions about the ongoing impact of water insecurity in the face of predicted and extreme climate events. (Summary from Oxford Scholarship Online)

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Livelihoods, Security, Food Security Regions: Asia, South Asia, Oceania Countries: Australia, Bangladesh

Year: 2019