Climate Change, Disaster and Gender Vulnerability: A Study on Two Divisions of Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh has become synonymous for climate change induced natural disasters. The environmental consequences of climate change affect men and women differently. Research reveals that disasters reinforce, perpetuate and increase gender inequality, making bad situations worse for women. People of all classes especially the poor are the most vulnerable group to experience those disasters. In addition to that, compare with the men, poor women are seriously affected by climate change-induced environmental degradation and natural disasters in Bangladesh. This paper tries to explore the condition of women during disaster, their special vulnerabilities and coping mechanism during disastrous situation. Both secondary and primary data have been used and analyzed to identify their overall condition during hazardous situation. The study indicates that women are affected more severely but they endure their vulnerability surreptitiously and hardly show any remonstration. These imply that the effects of climate change-related events on women are quite conspicuous compared with their male counterpart.