Climate Change Vulnerabilities of Woman in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper reviews the existing literature on gender differentiated climate change vulnerabilities in developing countries including Bangladesh. It is evident that climate change amplifies the vulnerabilities of poor people who are marginalized and more dependent on the threatened natural resources. Among the poor people women are seemed to be disproportionately affected by climate change. The review took utmost effort to unfold the root causes of gender differentiation under climate change scenario. It identifies some governing factors such as ownership, political affiliation, labor force participation that determine the extent of the effect of climate change. Deeper analyses of the literatures indicate that 'gender differentiated impacts'-are directly related to traditional gender roles of women. It also reveals the constraints to women's adaptation resulting from access to resource allocation and other elements of society. Drawing lessons from the existing literatures, finally it outlines some of the policy options to ensure the inclusion of women in development arena.

Gendered Perspectives on Climate Change Adaptation: A Quest for Social Sustainability in Badlagaree Village, Bangladesh

“…These findings also reflect those of pre-existing studies, for example Tanny and Rahman's [19] review of the literature on gender-related vulnerabilities of women, showing that they relate to the gendered roles of women in society, particularly regarding access to resources. Ferdous and Mallick [18] also argue that 'discriminatory social norms and practices' increase gender vulnerabilities in Bangladesh through restricting women's mobility and choices.…”

“…While study has been conducted into climate-induced 'gendered vulnerabilities', primarily in response to flood hazards in Bangladesh [18], only limited academic research has examined how drought is impacting gender. Multiple vulnerabilities of Bangladeshi women in relation to climate change more broadly are identified by Tanny and Rahman [19]. They include vulnerabilities to women's health and physical security, food security, access to water resources and work participation, with such climate change impacts mediated through socially constructed gender roles, land ownership differentials and power asymmetries [19].…”

“…Multiple vulnerabilities of Bangladeshi women in relation to climate change more broadly are identified by Tanny and Rahman [19]. They include vulnerabilities to women's health and physical security, food security, access to water resources and work participation, with such climate change impacts mediated through socially constructed gender roles, land ownership differentials and power asymmetries [19]. In their study of how climate change impacts women in Bangladesh, primarily through flooding events, Ferdous and Mallick [18] show how women are highly vulnerable through discrimination resulting from limited access to education, the dowry system and domestic violence.…”

Repositioning Nigeria’s Agricultural Extension System Towards Building Climate Change Resilience

“…The job performance and technical competence of extension workers who interface between extension institutions and farmers on agricultural issues such as causes, effects, mitigation, and adaptation strategies against climate change should be broadened and upgraded (Ozor, 2009;Adisa and Balogun, 2012). Klein et al, 2011 andTanny andRahman (2016) opined that resilient sensitive agricultural extension system must be tailored towards establishing a closer relationship with the extension clientele and other members of the rural communities to support the advancement of climate-smart agricultural practices among them. The knowledge of farmer's vulnerabilities within their operational environment which should ideally extend to their rural social dynamics, buffer, and adaptive capacities is essential in developing training manuals to be adopted for climate change resilience.…”

Gendered Perceptions of Climate Variability and Change among Local Communities Living around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda

“…While several studies indicate the importance of gender in climate studies [16][17][18] , the main argument has been that gender and climate change issues are often treated in isolation [18][19][20] , with limited attempts to bring these two interrelated issues together. A significant body of literature on gender and climate change indicates that both men and women perceive climate variability differently and this is informed by the specific gender roles and tasks to which they are assigned [21,22] . By the very fact that women engage in agriculture as a means to provide for their households, it denotes that any change in the climatic variables either directly or indirectly affects them and their households, and extent of their response is informed by the likely impacts [23,24] .…”