Bangladesh

Citation:

Azad, Abul Kalam, Khondoker Mokaddem Hossain, and Mahbuba Nasreen. 2013. “Flood-Induced Vulnerabilities and Problems Encountered by Women in Northern Bangladesh.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 4 (4): 190–9.

Authors: Abul Kalam Azad, Khondoker Mokaddem Hossain, Mahbuba Nasreen

Abstract:

This study examines flood-induced vulnerabilities among women in northern Bangladesh. Poor and disadvantaged women are more vulnerable to disasters than men due to the conditions that predispose them to severe disaster impacts. Women suffer from physical injuries and are often evicted from their dwellings due to floods. Difficulties in finding adequate shelter, food, safe water, and fuel for cooking, as well as problems in maintaining personal hygiene and sanitation, prevent women from performing their usual roles at home. All of these are problems related to women’s gender identity and social roles. Many poor and destitute women remain unemployed during and after floods. Women also suffer from domestic violence and are subject to harassment when taking shelter or refuge at community centers. These particular vulnerabilities and problems interrupt women’s mitigation efforts and adaptation capacities in disaster risk reduction.

Keywords: Bangladesh, flood, flood-induced vulnerability, vulnerability of women

Topics: Domestic Violence, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Health, Households Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2013

Citation:

Alston, Margaret, and Badi Akhter. 2016. “Gender and Food Security in Bangladesh: The Impact of Climate Change.” Gender, Place & Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography 23 (10): 1450–64.

Authors: Margaret Alston, Badi Akhter

Abstract:

Keywords: gender, food security, climate change, adaptation, food production, gênero, seguridad alimentaria, cambio climático, adaptación, producción de alimentos, 性别, 粮食安全, 气候变迁, 调适, 粮食生产

Topics: Economies, Poverty, Environment, Climate Change, Food Security, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender Mainstreaming, Households, Security Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2016

Citation:

Alam, Khurshed, and Md. Habibur Rahman. 2014. “Women in Natural Disasters: A Case Study from Southern Coastal Region of Bangladesh.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 8 (1): 68–82.

Authors: Khurshed Alam, Md. Habibur Rahman

Abstract:

Natural disasters are frequent phenomena in the coastal regions of Bangladesh, causing significant damage to the coastal community and environment. The present study was conducted in southern coastal region of Bangladesh with the aim to explore women's preparedness, risk and loss, cultural and conditional behaviour, adaptability and recovery capacity from the natural disasters. During disaster a kind of functional disorder gets created where women had to face challenges different from men. Women have to face loss of livelihood opportunities, deprivation from relief materials, sexual harassment and enjoy little scope of participation in any response or management activities. Likewise, they also suffer from inverse care law after disaster. Contrary to that, disaster also creates a condition to accrue diverse positive and constructive impacts including women's transformative role which often do not get reported. Disaster leads the planners to follow not merely the compensatory principle but also restoration and augmentation principles which give more benefits to the low income group of the coast. Nevertheless, in the coast the higher is the loss of property, the lower is the tendency among the dwellers to invest which has a long-lasting effect on capital formation and social development.

Keywords: disaster warning, environmental hazard, disaster preparedness, disaster gain, coping strategy, recovery capacity

Topics: Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Humanitarian Assistance, Livelihoods, Political Participation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2014

Citation:

Ikeda, Keiko. 1995. "Gender Differences in Human Loss and Vulnerability in Natural Disasters: A Case Study from Bangladesh." Indian Journal of Gender Studies 2 (2):171- 93.

Author: Keiko Ikeda

Annotation:

Topics: Age, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Gendered Power Relations Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 1995

Citation:

Author: Habibul Haque Khondker

Annotation:

Topics: Displacement & Migration, Economies, Economic Inequality, Environment, Climate Change, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, NGOs Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 1996

Citation:

Anagnostou, Sotiria. 2015. “Adapting to Climate Change: A Sensitivity Analysis of National Adaptation Programmes of Action Towards Women.” PhD diss., Arizona State University.

Author: Sotiria Anagnostou

Abstract:

The most recent decision of the 2012 Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognizes that in order to create climate policies that respond to the different needs of men and women a more balanced representation of women from developed and developing countries is needed. National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) provide a process for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to “identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate needs to respond to impending threats from climate change.” Since 1997, the United Nations has agreed to gender mainstreaming- a globally accepted strategy for promoting gender equality by ensuring that gender perspectives and attention to the goal of gender equality are central to all activities in the all UN systems. Due to the gender division of labor climate change will affect men and women differently. Policies and programs that do not take into account the needs and capacities of both men and women will fail to be effective and may worsen preexisting conditions that historically favor men. My research investigates the UN’s commitment towards gender mainstreaming. More specifically my objective is to understand how and to what extent the NAPAs from 49 countries integrate a gender dimension into their national climate adaptation policy. For the purpose of this research, I consider three interrelated issues: whether gender-specific needs and vulnerabilities were identified by the NAPA; if these needs and vulnerabilities were addressed by proposed adaptation projects; and in what forms women participated in the formulation of the NAPA. The scope of this research begins with an overview assessment of 49 NAPAs followed by a comparative assessment of NAPAs from four countries- Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Niger, and an in-depth analysis of Nepal’s NAPA, which incorporates field study. Nepal was chosen as a focus country due to its identification as being both inclusive and gender sensitive. The method of inquiry consists of both quantitative and qualitative analysis, utilizing the quantitative measures of HDI and GII and the qualitative methods of content analysis and case study. The findings suggest that the response to the gender dimensions of climate change found in adaptation policies vary widely among the LDCs and the level of response is dependent upon social, cultural, economic, and political contexts within each LDC. Additionally, I find that gender mainstreaming techniques have not been fully integrated into the NAPA policy and processes, and have not been effective at promoting gender equality through adaptation strategies. Recommendations are provided in order to help mainstream gender in NAPAs as they continue to be developed, revised, and implemented.

Topics: Environment, Climate Change, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations, NGOs Regions: Africa, West Africa, Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Niger

Year: 2015

Citation:

Ikeda, Keiko. 2009. “How Women’s Concerns Are Shaped in Community-Based Disaster Risk Management in Bangladesh.” Contemporary South Asia 17 (1): 65–78. doi:10.1080/09584930802624679.

Author: Keiko Ikeda

Abstract:

This article elaborates on how concerns regarding gender in community-based disaster risk management are shaped through interaction between local agents of development and communities in Bangladesh. As women and men have different experiences in disaster, gender concerns should be fully addressed by the community and integrated in the action they take up to reduce disaster risks. The term 'local agents of development' refers to individuals engaged in implementation of development policy in their own community. Recent trends in community-based disaster risk management policy seek what is called a 'whole community approach' engaging various stakeholders such as traditional village elite, 'local civil society' and leaders of community-based organizations - mostly poor villagers supported by non-governmental organizations. Within the context of the historical evolution of community development approaches in Bangladesh, this is quite new in terms of bringing together traditional leaders and poor target groups including women's groups. By drawing from the experience of women and focusing on the functioning of local agents of development during the flood of 2004, the author aims to assess the gaps between the primary concerns of women and those taken up in the risk-reduction action, to see whether, why, and when they have widened or been bridged.

Keywords: disaster management, gender, participation, local elite, Bangladesh

Topics: Development, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Gender, Women, Men, Gender Analysis, Humanitarian Assistance, NGOs, Political Participation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2009

Citation:

Bairagi, Radheshyam. 1986. “Food Crisis, Nutrition, and Female Children in Rural Bangladesh.” Population and Development Review 12 (2): 307–15.

Author: Radheshyam Bairagi

Abstract:

Although almost all nations show lower female than male mortality, Bangladesh and certain other developing countries show higher female mortality rates. Among children aged 1 to 4 in Bangladesh, female mortality rates are 45% higher for girls than for boys. This paper examines whether 1) sex biased attitudes toward nutrition (as expressed in terms of food intake) are more marked during food crises, and 2) these biases are related to the socioeconomic status of the family. The study measured weight and height of approximately 1400 children aged 1 to 4 in Bangladesh from April 1975 (10 months after the famine began) through December 1976 (14 months after the famine ended). The findings clearly indicate that sex and social status are strong correlates of nutritional status. Children of higher status families with larger homes fared better throughout the time period. Within each status category, boys fared better than girls. While poor families were harder hit by famine than wealthier ones, male-female nutritional discrimination was stronger among the higher classes. These differences were accentuated during the famine period. Policy makers and planners in Bangladesh must be made aware that such sex biases exist and that these patterns are exacerbated during food shortages. (NCBI)

Topics: Class, Economies, Economic Inequality, Poverty, Environment, Environmental Disasters, Food Security, Gender, Girls Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 1986

Citation:

Huq, Shireen. 2008. “Confronting Our Prejudices: Women’s Movement Experiences in Bangladesh.” In Development with a Body: Sexuality, Human Rights and Development, edited by Sonia Corrêa, 181–6. Zed Books.

Author: Shireen Huq

Abstract:

Offers insights into contemporary challenges and transformative possibilities of the struggle for sexual rights. This book combines the conceptual with the political, and offering examples of practical interventions and campaigns that emphasize the positive dimensions of sexuality (WorldCat)

Annotation:

Development with a body: making the connections between sexuality, human rights, and development / Andrea Cornwall, Sonia Corrêa and Susie Jolly --

Development's encounter with sexuality: essentialism and beyond / Sonia Corrêa and Susan Jolly --

Sexual rights/human rights ---

Sexual rights are human rights / Kate Sheill --

Sex work, trafficking and HIV: how development is compromising sex workers' human rights / Melissa Ditmore --

The language of rights / Jaya Sharma --

Children's sexual rights in an era of HIV/AIDS / Deevia Bhana --

The rights of man / Alan Greig --

Human rights interrupted: an illustration from India / Sumit Baudh --

Gender and sex orders -- Discrimination against lesbians in the workplace / Alejandra Sardá --

Ruling masculinities in post-apartheid South Africa / Kopano Ratele --

Gender, identity and travesti rights in Peru / Giuseppe Campuzano --

Small powers, little choice: reproductive and sexual rights in slums in Bangladesh / Sabina Faiz Rashid --

Social and political inclusion of sex workers as preventive measure against trafficking: Serbian experiences / Jelena Djordjevic --

Confronting our prejudices: women's movement experiences in Bangladesh / Shireen Huq --

Sexuality education as a human right: lessons from Nigeria / Adenike O. Esiet --

Terms of contact and touching change: investigating pleasure in an HIV epidemic / Jill Lewis and Gill Gordon --

A democracy of sexuality: linkages and strategies for sexual rights, participation, and development / Henry Armas --

Integrating sexuality into gender and human rights frameworks: a case study from Turkey / Pinar Ilkkarancan and Karin Ronge.

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Women Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2008

Citation:

Bouatta, C. 1994. “Feminine Militancy: Moudjahidates During and After the Algerian War.” In Gender and National Identity, edited by Valentine Moghadam, 192. London: Zed Books.

Author: C. Bouatta

Abstract:

Gender politics exist inevitably in all Islamist movements that expect women to assume the burden of a largely male-defined tradition. Even in secular political movements in the Muslim world - notably those anti-colonial national liberation movements where women were actively involved- women have experiences since independence a general reversal of the gains made. This collection written by women from the countries concerned explores the gender dynamics of a variety of political movements with very different trajectories to reveal how nationalism, revolution and Islamization are all gendered processes.  The authors explore women's experiences in the Algerian national liberation movement and more recently the fundamentalist FIS; similarly their involvement in the struggle to construct a Bengali national identity and independent Bangladeshi state; the events leading to the overthrow of the Shah and subsequent Islamization of Iran; revolution and civil war in Afghanistan; and the Palestinian Intifada.  This book argues that in periods of rapid political change, women in Muslim societies are in reality central to efforts to construct a national identity. (Zed Books)

Topics: Armed Conflict, National Liberation Wars, Combatants, Female Combatants, DDR, Gender, Women, Violence Regions: Africa, MENA, North Africa, Asia, Middle East, South Asia Countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Iran, Palestine / Occupied Palestinian Territories

Year: 1994