The Impact of Socio-cultural Factors on Vulnerability and Adaptation Capacity of Women During Flood Disaster in Bangladesh

Abstract

This thesis examines humans’ responses to environmental disasters by shedding light on how socio-cultural norms act as barriers for women, exacerbating their vulnerability during flood disasters and diminishing their ability to adapt to such events. Specifically, this study utilizes a qualitative methodology and employs ecofeminism as the main theoretical framework along with political ecology and pressure and release model in investigating the underlying factors that contribute to the reduced adaptive capacity of women in the study area. The current study was conducted in Sariakandi, a rural area in the northern part of Bangladesh that is susceptible to frequent flooding events. Generally, the findings show that patriarchal domination influences the gendered power structure, division of labor, mobility restrictions, purdah culture, restricted attire, economic dependency, sanitation, reproductive health, malnutrition, and other barriers faced by women in various aspects of their lives. The study further demonstrates how these restrictions exacerbate the vulnerability of women in the context of floods, rendering them less capable of adapting to such situations. Women in this region have only managed to cope with such unfavorable circumstances by initiating some economic and non-economic strategies. Economic initiatives include taking loans, livestock rearing and selling, kantha stitching, fuel selling, and chili drying. Non-economic initiatives are early marriage, consumption patterns, housing settlement, and saving food, fuel, and stoves. However, the government of Bangladesh has several programs to support women’s empowerment so that women can play a role in minimizing their vulnerability and developing adaptive capacity. The program includes strengthening decision-making power and access to education and training. A noteworthy finding of this study is that women’s vulnerability cannot be exclusively attributed to socio-cultural norms; women should also contribute by actively conforming to these distinct conventions even though they may be unwilling to embrace the alteration they have become accustomed to through successive generations. From a theoretical standpoint, mitigating the rule of men would provide an environment conducive to the advancement of women, thereby empowering them to actively participate in the vulnerability reduction of environmental disasters. Nevertheless, within the context of this present study, it is crucial not solely to reduce the prevalence of control but also to augment women’s understanding to cultivate receptiveness towards cultural transformations and enable them to acquire the essential competencies to adapt to unfavorable conditions. This study provides a valuable contribution by identifying policy priorities for reducing the vulnerability of women and providing a justification for the significance of need-based disaster policy planning. This study contributes to the broader field of environmental anthropology and sociology as well as gender studies by examining the intersectionality of women in the context of natural disasters.