Women's Participation in Disaster Relief and Recovery

This pamphlet provides three case studies from earthquake stricken areas India and Turkey which seek to highlight the specific ways in which women are affected by disasters and the roles that low-income women can play in relief and recovery efforts. The projects described are:

• India's 1993 Maharashtra earthquake - Describes how Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) was contracted by the Indian government to help in citizen participation efforts for reconstruction. SSP used interviews, participatory mapping and rapid appraisals to assess the situation, and then revived and reoriented government-established women's groups to act as information and communication interface between the community and government officials. The women learned basic construction techniques and government policies and methods.
• Turkey's 1999 Marmara Region earthquakes - Outlines how the Turkish feminist organisation Kadin Emegini Degerlendirme Vakfi (KEDV) began by providing emergency aid and then developed local women's groups in emergency shelter areas, where women worked together to produces dolls, candles, wooden toys, doors and other saleable items. The women organised workshops to fill needs for plumbers and electricians, formed credit and savings groups, and helped lobby for housing and financial resources.
• India's 2001 Gujarat earthquake - Describes how SSP drew on the experiences of both the Maharashtra and Marmara region recovery projects to create a network of women's groups which could identify the most immediate recovery needs. The women developed savings and credit groups and learned construction methods, land acquisition and management techniques.

The authors conclude that disasters can be an opportunity to "empower women at the grassroots level." In particular, they stress modifying post-disaster response methodology to use and support local grassroots women's organisations as part of recovery efforts. They note three main lessons learned from these case studies (abbreviated below):

1. Policymakers often fail to realise that post-disaster efforts are, in fact, development interventions that should reflect principles of participation and sustainability.
2. Often no clear agreement exists about what this participation should entail in relation to the roles of the government, international relief, and donor organisations. Lack of communication and coordination between the government agencies, aid organizations, and NGOs [non-governmental organisations] often wastes a sizeable share of the resources flowing into the affected area.
3. Relief and subsequent recovery efforts fail to pay adequate attention to the gender-specific impacts of disasters.

[This report was produced as part of the Population Council's SEEDS pamphlet series which provides programme ideas that address the economic needs and roles of low-income women. Click hereto learn about the SEEDS series.]