IMPACT OF HAZARDS ON WOMEN AND CHILDREN

SITUATION IN SOUTH ASIA

Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu

Intermediate Technology Development Group
Paper Presented at "Reaching Women and Children In Disasters"
Laboratory for Social and Behavioral Research
Florida International University
U.S.A
June 2000

Introduction
South Asia is the continent where worlds poorest population is habituating. Its social
and economic indicators stand out in terms of the number of persons below the
poverty line, some of the lowest literacy and high infant mortality rates.
(Annex Table 1).
A strong labour force can be considered an asset for any country. However, in many
South Asian countries poverty, poor access to basic facilities such as health, education
and adequate nutrition, and extremely hard work for survival do not give many of its
citizens room to flourish in life, or develop their full potential. This is reflected in the
social indicators presented in (Annex Table 1).
The occupations of the majority of the resource poor in South Asia include
agriculture, fishing, salt pan work and artisan work. Often agricultural activities are
carried out in land which does not belong to them (large landowners own the land).
The economic activities are carried out with basic implements. It is not incorrect to
say that the major asset of the majority of the people in South Asia is their physical
labour. Women often contribute an equal share, and sometimes even a larger share to
the economic activities. For both men and women it is hard physical, manual labour
for minimum returns that keep them at the minimum level of survival.

Extreme Events and Disasters

When it comes to extreme natural forces, the geographic location of the sub continent
makes it highly prone to attacks. The countries in South Asia are affected by floods,
cyclones, earthquakes, flash floods, tidal waves and droughts, to name a few.
For instance, between 1990-92 Bangladesh alone was hit by 3 storms, 4 floods, 1
tsunami and 2 cyclones which killed more than 4000,000 people and affected another
42 million. Table 1 gives an account of the devastating effect of extreme forces on the
sub continent over the period of 1987 1996.
Table 1

Annual average number of people killed or affected by disasters in

South Asia 1987-1996
Country

Number of
people killed

Bangladesh
India
Nepal
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
South Asia

44,014
5,063
783
748
87
50,695

% of total
killed in South
Asia
86.82
9.99
1.54
1.48
0.17
100.00

Number of
% Of total
people affected affected in
South Asia.
18,574,280
24.05
56,563.631
73.22
200,768
0.2
1,407,065
1.82
504,297
0.65
77,250.041
100.00

The impact of this magnitude on people and property is entirely due to the limited
capacity resulting from lack of resources, and poverty at all levels. According to the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (1993.p.4) people
in low - income countries are 4 times more likely to die in an extreme natural event
than people in high-income countries.
In the opening plenary it was mentioned that it is the poor and the powerless that get
the most direct impact of any extreme natural or economic phenomena. It was also
mentioned that the poor face the highest levels of risk to such phenomena. At this
point we need to ask the questions - Is the poor a homogenous group? What are the
other elements, other than material poverty, which contribute to their vulnerability?
Economic, social, and political factors make the resource poor vulnerable to
disasters. Factors such as gender, class, caste, ethnicity, age, and disability make the
already vulnerable further vulnerable in different degrees, and increase their levels of
risk to disasters.

Position of Women in South Asia.

Specific social features in South Asia include seclusion and limited mobility of
women, and the exclusive nurturing role assigned to them in the gender division of
labour. Cultural values, religious norms, and social structures force women and
children to be dependent on men. Most of the value systems in almost all South Asian
societies believe in the need for protection of a male for women to carry on with life.
At the same time, the social pressures arising out of the same value systems force the
poor towards action such as female infanticide.
According to the socio-economic indicators, the illiteracy of the overall population is
considerably high and the gender disaggregated data points out that female illiteracy
is always higher than male. (Annex Table 1). The ownership of assets show a similar
pattern where women own less assets, since most societies follow a patriarchal system
of ownership of property.
Some of the key factors contributing to women's 'double edged' vulnerability owing to
poverty and other social disadvantages in the South Asian context can be stated as
follows:
Very high illiteracy levels
Low ownership of assets such as land, and other property (often inheritance laws
are male oriented)
Minimum work opportunities outside home
Limited mobility out of home and out of their own locality
Low social status
Socially constructed dependency on male relatives
All these factors, the dynamics between them, and the processes arising from the
inter-relationships between them has resulted in women becoming an extremely
vulnerable group in South Asia.

The Impact of Disasters on Women and Children.

As mentioned the socio economic, cultural and religious values in South Asia have
resulted in its women and female children in particular to be more vulnerable to
adverse situations in comparison to men. These dynamics form into vicious cycles,
where women and their children get trapped. Therefore, it is nearly impossible for
women belonging to already poor and vulnerable groups to bounce back once hit by
extreme events. The result in the worst scenario is often women becoming destitute
with their children.
Kafi (1992) recorded some cases of women from Bangladesh who have become
destitute facing hazards of various nature. These cases demonstrate how each of the
above mentioned factors contribute to their vulnerability, powerlessness and
destitution. One account (Kafi, page 61) points out how 'Shariah law' was brought in
by the male relatives to confiscate the family land in the event of her husbands and
sons deaths by a tornado, leaving the woman and her 2 daughters poverty stricken
and destitute.
There are no legal provisions to protect women and their families against such action.
The existing laws may not support this move, however for a majority of women who
are illiterate or semi-literate, without financial resources it is nearly an impossible task
to seek legal protection.
Work opportunities for women in many areas are virtually non -existent. Therefore
when hit by disasters and displaced, for survival many families are forced to take
beggars bowl (Kafi, page 40). The situation is worst for women who do not have a
male relative in the family (husband, a brother or a grown up son). There are
numerous accounts of single women effected by disasters whose children are never
sent to school but for begging for family survival. The factors related to restricted
mobility do not allow or encourage women to move to unknown destinations on their
own in search of employment. Being illiterate, the skills women possess too are
limited and basic.
Bhutta (1999) in a study of riverine communities in Pakistan has recorded the impact
of river erosion on women and children. The victims belong to 2 villages which have
become part of the river bed near Chiniot in Punjab.
The impact on women, as recorded demonstrate the high social values attached to
marriage, from a security point. From the affected womens view point, their land
and houses gradually being washed away by the river has denied or delayed the
chances of their marriage. The financial constraints have compelled the families to
sell the dowries of the daughters and the jewelry of housewives, causing delay in
marriages of the girls and rise of insecurity among the housewives. It is further
mentioned that delay in marriage in an overly suppressed atmosphere of a tabooed
society caused many psychological problems for the girls instigating feelings of
worthlessness and self pity.

Jewelry, in South Asian societies is a significant matter. It is part of the dowry which
provide security to women. As Bhutta describes, in the riverine communities it was
significant how the linkage was made that the disaster made them to part with the
jewelry, to which women clung to throughout their lives as something to fall back on
in case of abandonment or widowhood. Women felt that their vulnerability increased
since they had to part with the only security they had.

Impact on Children
The most visible impact on children in the riverine disaster presented by Bhutta, is the
increased drop out ratio from schools. Observation made in flood affecting areas in
Jhang, Punjab (Ariyabandu, Visit Report to Jhang) is that schools are washed away by
the floods so frequently in some parts of the Jhang area, they are closed down
permanently. Children who drop out, and who have no opportunity to attend schools,
support their parents by taking charge of household chores such as feeding cattle,
helping with agricultural activities, or migrate to cities looking for casual
employment. Children from very poor families whose parents are displaced or without
work are sent to beg.
Bhutta concludes that facing the riverine disaster the children in both villages have
been imprinted with the shock and trauma of grief and agony faced. The rebuilding of
houses and other rehabilitation activities continued but there was hardly any effort to
look into the issues of the lost innocence and trauma faced by the children.

Observations from a Current Crisis

The current crisis in some parts of India and Pakistan resulting from severe drought
yet again demonstrate the extreme vulnerabilities of women and children, and the
impact this slow on-set disaster is making on them. The Daily Jang Pakistan
(25.5.2000) reported about a father from a severe drought hit area of Baluchistan in
Southern Pakistan, who brought his 15 year old daughter to be sold either as a
domestic servant or as a bride for a few hundred rupees. With the money, he intended
to feed the other members of the family who are dying from hunger. This incident
alone reflect the desperation of the poor facing disasters and the manner in which
extreme vulnerable and low social position of women is brought out to the open in
such situations.
The situation in the areas in India hit by drought (India Today, May 8, 2000)
confirm the social, economic, and political issues of vulnerability. Farmers have
turned into labourers unable to cultivate their own land, some have been taken into
relief camps and some are forced to beg. Women as the caretakers of the households,
carrying the full responsibility of their nurturing role, wake up at midnight to trek
5km or more to a well and waiting till dawn for a few drops of water, and sometimes
get nothing. In Rajastan, it is noted that women have no choice but to scrounge for
water. In the situation of water riots, cast disputes surface, people who are socially
known as low caste get less access to water due to the controls introduced by
Brahmins (higher caste).

The media images show women carrying empty pots on their heads in search of water.
It is observed that in some areas only women are remaining to face and manage the
crisis. At the onset of crisis, men often migrate to more lucrative areas to earn a living.
In the village Sonari in the drought stricken Thar in Pakistan it is observed that it is
only women, children and old people remain in the village. (The News, Pakistan
14.5.2000) Women fetch brackish water from nearby wells, climb trees to fetch a
local fruit that help to quench thirst of humans and cattle. The report further noted that
without a single man visible in the village, the lives of these hardy women revolve
around their donkeys, goats and malnourished children.
Further, the health situation of the women in drought affected Thar is a matter of
serious concern. It is reported that thousands of women in the Thar desert area are
infected with Tuberculosis. According to a woman who suffers from the disease, men
in the community do not consider women important enough to spend money on. She
further stated that since there are hardly any women doctors in the area men use it as
an excuse for not allowing the women to get medical treatment often. It is socially not
acceptable for male doctors to treat women.
These accounts demonstrate the vicious cycle, in which the structures in society keep
women at low key in terms of education, employment opportunities and mobility. The
major gap here is the socially constructed dependency of women on male family
members turn against women in its absence. There are hardly any social structures to
address this gap, and as a result the low-key position of women from poor groups
limit their options for survival.

How do women cope

Living within these victimising relationships women in South Asia display
enormous strength and capacity throughout the entire cycle of disasters; in
preparation to face hazards, managing once the disaster strikes, and in rebuilding the
damaged livelihoods. As observed in the case studies often it is only women, children
and the old remain in the villages trapped till the flood waters recede, or managing
till the rains come in prolonged droughts. Womens extremely high degrees of
resilience in difficult situations, and the will to survive and ensure their family
survival is noted not only in disasters, but in daily struggle for life.
During calamities, taking care of the meager belongings of the family, ensuring food
and water for the family members, looking into the concerns of rebuilding the
livelihoods, securing the seed and other productive material, taking care of the sick
and old are almost entirely done by women.
There are many examples where women have organised themselves at community
level, and have developed disaster preparedness strategies. The group comprising
mainly of women who organised themselves to attend to the drinking water security
issues in the South East of Sri Lanka (ITDG Sri Lanka initiative), and the womens
group in Banaskanta, in the state of Gujarat in India (Fernando et.al page 35) who
launched an initiative to ensure fodder security for livestock during drought are two
cases in point for such initiatives.

However, women's capacity and resilience, their resourcefulness, is usually not

taken as a positive variable in disaster planning, and in relief operations. This is a
major gap which not only denies women their due from the national resources in
terms of benefits, but the plans and initiatives lack the contribution of women, their
experiences, and expertise.

Changes required
Vulnerability involves a variety of layers. It is a too complex task to fully unearth
dormant features of situated vulnerability particularly in South Asian societies,
resulting from multiple determinants.
Addressing the root causes and social conditions of vulnerability needs to be dealt
with at two levels; at the fundamental level, and at a practical level. At the
fundamental level the issues of entitlements, access to the basic needs, and the
requirements of the resource poor to develop their full potential surface as key
issues. To address the fundamental issues of this nature, the will and commitment at
all levels is a requirement.
At a practical level, enormous initiatives take place all over the world to minimise
the suffering from disasters, to rebuild and rehabilitate We need to question how
effective are they in the backdrop of ever increasing numbers of dead and affected
from various hazards. Whether these initiatives are capable of addressing the root
causes of risk and vulnerability is a question which require much thought.
Taking where we are now as the starting point, we need to take initiative to locate
disasters from an overall livelihood perspective. Identification of elements of risk and
vulnerabilities within the daily livelihoods of the poor will guide us towards the
location of hazards, the associated risks and vulnerabilities. Most importantly an
overall livelihood perspective will indicate towards the strengths and capacities of
people living with disasters.
Therefore, at a practical level to reduce vulnerability to disasters we need initiatives
which create space for men and women to enhance their capacities, to enhance
survival strategies. Also we need to identify and create risk and vulnerability
reduction possibilities within the exsisting livelihoods. A further question arise
however, how effective is addressing specific disaster related concerns be, if the
fundamental issues are not addressed side by side.
Madhavi Malalgoda Ariyabandu
Programme Manager- Disaster Mitigation
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG)
5, Lional Edirisinghe Mawatha,
Colombo 5
Sri Lanka
E mail madhavi@itdg.lanka.net
Phone- 94 1 829412-5
Fax 94 1 856188

References
1.Ariyabandu M.M., Defeating Disasters- Ideas for Action. Intermediate Technology
Development Group (ITDG), 1999
2.Ariyabandu M.M.,Visit Report to Jhang, Pakistan, May 2000. ITDG internal
document.
3.Bhutta A.H., The Response of Rriverine Communities to Disasters. A case study of
a Pakistan Village Mamola, with Special Reference to Changes in Livelihood Patterns
and Community Based Rehabilitation. Unpublished report , ITDG, 1999
4.Fernando P, Fernando V., South Asian Women: Facing Disasters, Securing Life;
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), 1997.
5.Kafi S.A. Disaster and Destitute Women; Twelve case studies, BDPC 1992, Dhaka
6.Shamim A., A Cry from the Land of Peacocks, The News -Pakistan,
May 14, 2000
7.Shamim A, The Deadly Combination. The News Pakistan, May 14, 2000.
8. World Disasters Report 1993, International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies.
9. World Development Report 1998/1999.

Annex Table 1

Selected Economic and Social Indicators

Economy
Population in
millions 1997
Gross National
Product
Billions of US
Dollars 1997a
GNP per capita
US Dollars 1997a
Prevalence of
child malnutrition
% of children
under age 5
1990-96
Under 5 mortality
rate per 1,000
1980
Adult illiteracy
rate
% of people 15
and above 1995
Population below
the poverty line
(%)National
1995-96

Bangladesh
124

India
961

Nepal
23

Pakistan
137

Sri Lanka
18

33.2

373.9

4.8

67.2

14.8

270

390

210

490

800

68

66

49

40

38

207

173

179

161

48

male

Female

male

Female

male

female

male

Female

male

femal
e

51

74

35

62

59

86

50

76

13

35.6

35

42

Source: World Development Report 1998/1999

34

35.3

10