Natural disasters do not affect men and women equally. Researchers from the London School of Economics and Essex University, Eric Neumayer and Thomas Plumper, found that women die more than men in natural disasters. Let’s look at their reasons:
In the study conducted in 2007, 21 years of data obtained from 141 countries between 1981 and 2002 were evaluated and it was seen that the death rate of women was higher in countries with high gender inequality. Reasons; wasting time to find suitable clothes, not having learnable skills such as swimming/climbing, the priority of keeping the family safe as a mother, and more. . .
Moreover, many of the survivors cannot demand the pads and hygienic materials they need as a result of their social roles. Since the toilets are installed in more remote areas, the fact that they are dark brings the danger of violence even when reaching the most basic need. There are studies that show that women who cannot be reached fall into the hands of human trafficking gangs.
Both social and biological factors lead to this result.
In the 2001 Gujarat earthquakes, where 20,000 people died, and the 1993 Maharashtra earthquakes, where 10,000 people died, the women’s deaths were so high because most of the women were indoors while the men were outdoors. This was one of the consequences of women’s inability to have a voice in the workforce in patriarchal societies. Men who were not outdoors were still safer because workplaces were more robustly built than homes, and men were less likely to be harmed by buildings.
Apart from such social disadvantages, there are also biological disadvantages. Most women can jump slower, jump less, and climb higher than men. Although the biology factor is important here, these skills are learned skills and patriarchal society finds women who attempt to do them strange.
The fact that societies are more restrictive about women’s clothing limits their mobility during disasters.
This type of clothing prevents women from being fast during disasters. It puts them in a difficult situation when it comes to running, swimming, climbing. In addition, due to the need for closure, if women are naked during natural disasters, they feel the need to dress when going out, and this causes an increase in deaths.
Even if women survive disasters, they continue to be in danger. Because they are exposed to more difficulties in accessing resources.
According to United Nations estimates, after the 2015 Nepal earthquake, 15,000 people a year – mostly women and girls – were forced into prostitution in the country. These people fell into the hands of human smugglers to work for debt.
The higher the socioeconomic status of women, the lower the death rate. If sexism in society is eliminated, millions of women can be prevented from losing their lives due to natural disasters.
Although disasters affect women worse, there may be cases where men are more affected, depending on the type of disaster. Social norms may put men at greater risk in some cases. Remember, nothing is more important than your life.
Resources:
Eric Neumayer (London School of Economics and Political Science)
Thomas Plumper (University of Essex and Max-Planck Institute of Economics)
Gender Equality – zzezgii
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