Fikre Debela
Nov. 28th, 2008
Gender inequality is often thought of as brought about by men who tend to dominate society. Even though this may be true in some way, the climate however is another hindering factor to gender inequality. In disaster prone areas women are often the ones who are affected by it the most. When things like cyclones or powerful earthquakes happen women are often less likely to be informed about it and the ones struggling to make ends meet in their family. This being unfortunate for women it is a major factor of the inequality that women face around the world.
According to reports the country of Bangladesh is the most vulnerable to impacts by the climate. In 1991 a cyclone happened and killed 138,000 people. Women over 40 years old happened to be many of the victims. When natural disasters like this occur women become more open to things like malnutrition, lack of medical faculties, and proper sanitation. There has also been an increase in women headed households because men have to go work far from their homes to bring in money. If a natural disaster occurs women are often left with the responsibility to provide new shelter for their families and other households task. Women are often made to work harder because these disasters occur and have less time to go to school. Girls often have to drop out of school to help their families. Climate is a huge factor in the gender inequalities affecting our societies.
I would have never related climate changes to having an effect on gender inequalities. This issue needs to be dealt with. More people have to help women in these kinds of situations. Being left to care ones family after a disaster is too much work, especially in poorer nations. There are organizations that are fighting for this cause though. Women for Climate Justice and Women’s Environment and Development Organization are both doing this.
According to reports the country of Bangladesh is the most vulnerable to impacts by the climate. In 1991 a cyclone happened and killed 138,000 people. Women over 40 years old happened to be many of the victims. When natural disasters like this occur women become more open to things like malnutrition, lack of medical faculties, and proper sanitation. There has also been an increase in women headed households because men have to go work far from their homes to bring in money. If a natural disaster occurs women are often left with the responsibility to provide new shelter for their families and other households task. Women are often made to work harder because these disasters occur and have less time to go to school. Girls often have to drop out of school to help their families. Climate is a huge factor in the gender inequalities affecting our societies.
I would have never related climate changes to having an effect on gender inequalities. This issue needs to be dealt with. More people have to help women in these kinds of situations. Being left to care ones family after a disaster is too much work, especially in poorer nations. There are organizations that are fighting for this cause though. Women for Climate Justice and Women’s Environment and Development Organization are both doing this.
2 comments:
That is very interesting. I would have never drawn the connection as well but now that I read your summary it makes sense. When I think about the tsunami that happened 3 years ago, everyone was affected but i remember a lot of coverage on women and their children with no place to go especially when the male figure was working to get the family back on their feet. This is were alot of women fall back on health care, and basic income.
It seems that this is connected to the lack of education women receive compared to men. Perhaps the low literacy rates of women in poor nations relate to their lack of information on incoming natural disasters. I am curious to know to the strategies of the organization that are addressing this issue.I would assume that the best approach would be to educate women in those areas about natural disasters and create safety plans that they can follow. It would probably help to strengthen disaster relief in those areas and inform them of available resources. Hopefully they can create a system that will better inform women and families of incoming disasters.
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