Women and Climate Change in Bangladesh

221 Pages·2017·2.425 MB·English

by  Margaret Alston

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Women and Climate Change
in Bangladesh
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1 Bangladeshisbynomeansahighemitterofcarbon,butitisneverthelessone
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1: of the countries most critically affected. There is a significant riskof damage
t 2 to lives and livelihoods due to climate change in the form of cyclones, flood-
] a ing and storm surges, and slow-onset impacts such as droughts, sea level rises
o and river basin erosion. Moreover, Bangladeshis are especially vulnerable, as
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ie a high proportion of people live in extreme poverty. This book assesses the
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impactofclimatechangeinBangladeshandpresentsthefindingsofathree-year,
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a in-depthstudyundertakenatvillagelevelindifferentdistrictsofthe country. It
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, examines national policies, contrasting them with what is actually happening
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ni at village level. It outlines the impact of climate change on livelihood strate-
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o gies and health, and focuses particularly on the impact on gender relations,
lif showing that, although women have a significant role to play in helping
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C communities cope with the effects of climate change, cultural customs and
of practices often work against this. The book argues for, and puts forward
y policy proposals for, recognizing women’s active contribution and supporting
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s gender equality as a critical strategy in global adaptation to climate
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v challenges.
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[ Margaret Alston is Professor in the Department of Social Work at Monash
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b University, Australia.
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ASAA Women in Asia Series
Editor: Louise Edwards (University of New South Wales)
and Lenore Lyons (The University of Sydney)
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0 Editorial Board:
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e Susan Blackburn (Monash University)
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u Hyaeweol Choi (The Australian National University)
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4 Michele Ford (The University of Sydney)
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1 Trude Jacobsen (Northern Illinois University)
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1: Vera Mackie (University of Wollongong)
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t Anne McLaren (The University of Melbourne)
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] Mina Roces (University of New South Wales)
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e Dina Siddiqi (The City University of New York)
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Andrea Whittaker (The University of Queensland)
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a,
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n Masters and Managers
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f Mukkuvar Women A studyof gender relations in
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al Gender, hegemony and capitalist urban Java
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transformation in a South Indian Norma Sullivan 1995
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o fishing community
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t Kalpana Ram 1991 Matriliny and Modernity
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s
r Sexual politics and social change in
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v A World of Difference rural Malaysia
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U Islam and gender hierarchy Maila Stivens 1995
y [ in Turkey
b Julie Marcus 1992 Intimate Knowledge
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e Women and their health in
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a Purity and Communal Boundaries North-east Thailand
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l Women and social change in a Andrea Whittaker 2000
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w Bangladeshi village
o
D Santi Rozario 1992 Women in Asia
Tradition, modernity
Madonnas and Martyrs and globalisation
Militarism and violence in Louise Edwards and
the Philippines Mina Roces (eds) 2000
Anne-Marie Hilsdon 1995
Violence against Women in Sex, Love and Feminism in the
Asian Societies Asia Pacific
Gender inequality and technologies A cross-cultural studyof young
of violence people’s attitudes
Lenore Manderson and Chilla Bulbeck 2008
Linda Rae Bennett (eds) 2003
7 Gender, State and Social Power
1 Women’s Employment in Japan Divorce in contemporary Indonesia
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2 The experience of part-time Kate O’Shaughnessy 2008
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n workers
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J Kaye Broadbent 2003 Gender, Household, and State in
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0 Post-Revolutionary Vietnam
1 Chinese Women Living and Working Jayne Werner 2008
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1: Anne McLaren (ed.) 2004
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t Young Women in Japan
] a Abortion, Sin and the State Transitions to adulthood
o in Thailand Kaori Okano 2009
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e Andrea Whittaker 2004
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Women, Islam and Everyday Life
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a Sexual Violence and the Law Renegotiating polygamy
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, in Japan in Indonesia
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ni Catherine Burns 2004 Nina Nurmila 2009
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o
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li Women, Islam and Modernity Feminist Movements in
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C Single women, sexuality and repro- Contemporary Japan
of ductive health in Laura Dales 2009
y contemporary Indonesia
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s Linda Rae Bennett 2005 Gender and Labour in Korea
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v and Japan
ni The Women’s Movement in Sexing class
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[ Post-Colonial Indonesia Ruth Barraclough and
y Elizabeth Martyn 2005 Elyssa Faison (eds) 2009
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d Women and Work in Indonesia Gender Diversity in Indonesia
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o Michele Ford and Sexuality, Islam and queer selves
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w Lyn Parker (eds) 2008 Sharyn Graham Davies 2010
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Women and Union Activism in Asia New Women in Colonial Korea
Kaye Broadbent and A sourcebook
Michele Ford (eds) 2008 Hyaeweol Choi 2012
Gender, Islam, and Democracy Women Writers in
in Indonesia Postsocialist China
Kathryn Robinson 2008 Kay Schaffer and Xianlin Song 2013
Domestic Violence in Asia Growing up Female in
Globalization, gender and Islam in Multi-Ethnic Malaysia
the Maldives Cynthia Joseph2015
Emma Fulu 2014
Women, Sexual Violence and the
Gender and Power in Indonesian Killings of 1965–66
7 Indonesian Islam Annie Pohlman 2015
1 Leaders, feminists, Sufis and
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2 pesantren selves, edited Love and Marriage in
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n Bianca J. Smith and Globalising China
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J Mark Woodward 2014 Wang Pan 2015
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1 Practicing Feminism in South Korea Women and Climate Change
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1: The women’s movement against in Bangladesh
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t sexual violence Margaret Alston 2015
] a Kyungja Jung 2014
o Women and Politics in
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ie The Korean Women’s Movement Contemporary Japan
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and the State Emma Dalton 2015
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a Bargaining for change
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a, Seung-kyung Kim 2014 Trafficking Women in Korea
ni Filipina migrant entertainers
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o Gender, Nation and State in Sallie Yea 2015
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li Modern Japan
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C Andrea Germer, Vera Mackie and Women and Sharia Law in
of Ulrike Wöhr (eds) 2014 Northern Indonesia
y Dina Afrianty 2015
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s Women and Sex Work in Cambodia
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ve Blood, sweat and tears China’s Leftover Women
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n Larissa Sandy 2015 Late marriage among professional
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[ women and its consequences
y Sandy To 2015
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Women and Climate Change
in Bangladesh
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1 Margaret Alston
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Routledge RRoouuttleleddggee
RoutledgReoutledge
Firstpublished2015
byRoutledge
2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN
andbyRoutledge
711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017
RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninformabusiness
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1 ©2015MargaretAlston
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2 TherightofMargaretAlstontobeidentifiedasauthorofthisworkhas
e beenassertedbyherinaccordancewiththeCopyright,DesignsandPatent
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u Act1988.
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4 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedor
0 utilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,now
1 knownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orin
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: anyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwriting
1
2 fromthepublishers.
at Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarksor
] registeredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationandexplanation
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g withoutintenttoinfringe.
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i BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
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n AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
a LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
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a, Wopmageensacnmd.c–li(mAaStAeAchwanogmeeinniBnaAngsilaadseesrhies/)MargaretAlston.
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n Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
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o 1.Womenandtheenvironment–Bangladesh.2.Humanbeings–Effectof
if climateon–Bangladesh.3.Climaticchanges–Socialaspects–Bangladesh.
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a 4.Climaticchanges–Economicaspects–Bangladesh.5.Women–
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of Bcoanndgiltaiodness.h–7S.oCcoiamlmcounnditiytiodnesv.e6lo.pWmoemnte–nB–aBnagnlgaldaedsehs.hI–.ETciotlneo.mic
y HQ1745.6.A8742015
it 305.4095492–dc23
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r 2014027961
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ni ISBN:978-1-138-02604-9(hbk)
U ISBN:978-1-315-77458-9(ebk)
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Contents
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1 List of illustrations viii
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1: Acknowledgement x
t 2 Series Editor’s Foreword xi
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o] 1 Introducing climate change and its impacts on the people
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e of Bangladesh 1
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n 2 Bangladesh: culture and context 34
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a, 3 National and international policies and frameworks:
ni advancing gender equality 60
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if 4 Existing circumstances: shaping a life in rural Bangladesh 81
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5 Perceptions of climate changes and events, preparations
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o and responses 103
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s 6 Negotiating the climate disaster experience 116
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i 7 Impacts of climate change 136
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y [ 8 Conclusion – vulnerability, resilience and adaptation:
b advancing gender equality 172
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o Appendix 183
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n Bibliography 187
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o Index 206
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Illustrations
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1 Figures
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2 1.1 Map of Bangladesh showing the areaswhere the research
t took place 26
a
] 2.1 Bangladesh 35
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g 2.2 Layers of government 43
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Di 4.1 Educational attainment 89
n 4.2 Levels of food security in 2012 94
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S 4.3 Who eats less? 94
a, 7.1 Whose health is most affected? 151
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i Tables
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f 1.1 Bangladesh – qualitative data summary 27
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y 1.2 Survey area 29
it 1.3 Sample size by sample area 29
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er 1.4 Sex and district breakdown 30
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i 1.5 Sex and age breakdown 30
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U 1.6 Main activities undertaken in 2012 31
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y 4.1 Ownership of assets 82
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d 4.2 Areaswhere respondents felt they could make
e autonomous decisions 83
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a 4.3 Who eats less? 95
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nl 4.4 Reasons for food insecurity 95
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4.5 Food purchased from the market or grown 96
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D 5.1 Respondents who answered, YES there was change 107
7.1 Numbers of respondentswho noted particular losses 137
7.2 Summary of occupational impacts by region 139
7.3 Food security factors 144
7.4 Impact on water security 146
7.5 Impacts on educational access 147
7.6 Age at which girls were married as a result of climate events 148
7.7 Health issues resulting from climate changes 150
List of illustrations ix
7.8 Perceptions of whose health is most affected 151
7.9 How have women’s lives changed in the last 10 years? 153
7.10 How have men’s lives changed in the last 10 years? 154
7.11 Adaptation strategies most likely to be adopted 162
7.12 Negative factors affecting quality of life 163
7.13 Happy memories in 2012 164
7 7.14 What isworrying people 164
1 7.15 Overall priorities for type of information people want 165
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2 7.16 Overall priorities for best ways to get information 165
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4 Boxes
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4 2.1 Amar Shonar Bangla 41
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2 5.1 Top three responses for types of perceived changes in season 107
t 5.2 Top three responses for types of perceived changes in temperature 108
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] 5.3 Top three responses for types of perceived changes in rainfall 109
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g 5.4 Top three responses for types of perceived changes in wind 111
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Di 5.5 Those who commented on an increase in the number and
n severity of particular catastrophic events 111
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S 7.1 Women’s identified adaption strategies 166
a, A.1 The National Adaption Programme of Action adaption strategies 183
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r A.2 Community-level strategies adapted by NGOs in Bangladesh 185
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