Report of the Seminar on Debate on Gender Sensitive Approach to Disaster Response in Nepal

Transcription

1 Report of the Seminar on Debate on Gender Sensitive Approach to Disaster Response in Nepal Sponsored by, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Nepal Organized by, Central Department of Home Science Women s Studies Program Tribhuvan University Prepared by, Puspa Niraula-Ghimire Women s Studies Program Poush, 2072 (Jan, 2016) Introduction 1

2 Disaster causes a serious threat to all aspects of life. Disasters result in death and cause physical, psychological, economical and environmental damages. According to UNDP (2010) 1, Women and children are 14 times more likely to die during disaster than men. The risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence- including rape, human trafficking and domestic abuses also increase during and after disaster. In Nepal, due to massive earthquake of 25 April and post-earthquake shocks many people lost their property, livestock, crops and seed stocks and other agricultural and commercial assets, which would sustain their livelihoods. Most of the houses in the rural areas were destroyed and therefore many families forced to relocate to shelters 2. After-effects of natural disasters are not gender neutral and they have differential impact on women and girls, and boys and men. Different evidences from all across the world depict that the most vulnerable ones during crisis are women headed households, elderly people, pregnant women, lactating mothers, disabled women and men and adolescent girls. In Nepal, women are primarily responsible for domestic duties such as childcare and care for the elderly or disabled; therefore they do not have the liberty of migrating to look for work following disasters. Whereas, men often do migrate, leaving behind very high numbers of female-headed households. Inadequate facilities for daily basics have increased women s domestic burden and at the same time her economic burdens, leaving her less freedom and mobility to look for alternative sources of income. In this context, a seminar was organized by the Central Department of Home Science and Women s Studies Program of the Tribhuvan University with the following objectives: To enable participants to acquire knowledge about the role of women in disaster. To debate on gender sensitive approach to disaster response in Nepal. To bring the students, teachers and other women activists at a common platform. 1 UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (2010) Gender and Disasters, UN Plaza, New York. 2 WHR (2015) Rapid Market Assessment on Income Generation and Livelihood Support for the Earthquake Survivors in Dhading and lalitpur Districts of Nepal, A Report submitted to the Asia Foundation in Sep

3 To analyze the situation of post disaster-earthquake management from a gender perspective. It was a half- day seminar conducted in two sessions: Session I: Inauguration Inauguration session was chaired by Prof. Ms. Erene Shrestha, Chief of Central Department of Home Science and Women s Studies Program (CDHS&WSP). The Chief Guest of the program was Prof. Dr. Chinta Mani Pokharel, Dean of Humanities and Social Science of the Tribhuvan University. Prof. Mr. Ramesh Shrestha, The Campus Chief of Padma Kanya M. Campus, Ms. Samira Poudel, The Gender Expert of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Nepal and Mr. Dev Raj Dahal, The Director of FES Nepal and Mr. Bhumi Nepal, The President of Nepal Professor s Association were the key note speakers of the seminar. At the beginning, Prof. Ms. Erene Shrestha from the CDHS&WSP of the T.U. welcomed all the distinguished guests, representative from the FES and other organizations, colleagues, students and other participants. In her welcome speech Prof. Ms. Shrestha expressed that it is an honor for the department to organize seminar such a crucial and sensitive matter and discuss on different aspects of such an unforeseen natural disaster, i.e., the earthquake, intensively. On the occasion Campus Chief Prof. Mr. Ramesh Shrestha highlighted on the course Post Graduate Diploma in Women s Studies as being introduced to breakdown the disparity between women and men at all levels. About the situation of people aftermath of disasters, Prof. Shrestha expressed that men usually remain outside from the household for work so the victims of earthquake used to be women and children. As a result of Nepal s earthquake of 25 April and post-earthquake shocks, many women and children became homeless; many women get widowed, and children are living under difficult circumstances, so relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation programs should be carried out immediately at every level. For relief fund distribution, government should be responsible. Mr. Dev Raj Dahal, The Director from FES Nepal talked about the establishment of FES and the areas that it basically focuses, which are: democracy and freedom; civic education, social 3

4 (gender) justice and solidarity and cooperation. He further stated that it also focuses on women s education and transformation on the basis of humanity. He stressed that our society needs to be resilient towards gender equality. Our economic policies should be sustainable and distributive. Our youth needs to be more fascinated by rural areas. Our education or the knowledge system needs to be reflective, critical and transformative. He added that FES not only works on networking, shows commitment towards every activity of P.K. Campus. About the post-earthquake management, Mr. Dahal emphasized that for the reconstruction of earthquake resistant houses; state should take initiative and it needs to be sustainable. Since natural disaster affects more to women than men, they should be involved at all stages disaster risk management. Women s need and concerns and expertise should be incorporated while formulating disaster management policies and rebuilding of damaged infrastructures. Women friendly technology should be used to facilitate women in reconstruction and rehabilitation processes. Ms. Samira Poudel, The Gender Expert from FES thanked everyone and talked about the works that has been carried out by FES all over the world. She shared as an oldest political foundation FES is working for promoting democracy, gender justice and equality both nationally and internationally. On March 2015, FES celebrated its 90 th years of establishment in Germany and at present they have offices in more than 100 countries. They also have a Gender Coordinator at every office. She further shared that in the Year 1012, its Gender Strategy was to increase access to resources for women. About women s situation in Nepal, she expressed that women are mostly affected by various traditional beliefs and practices such as Chhaupadi, Kamlari, Badi, Deauki, etc. In order to get rid from these ill practices, she stressed that more women should come forward and participate in all aspects of decision-making for social transformation. Mr. Bhumi Nepal from Nepal Professor s Association started his speech through festival greetings and expressed that reconstruction of damaged houses and properties and rehabilitation of the survivors are sensitive issues, which need urgent attention. On the occasion Prof. Dr. Chinta Mani Pokharel, The Dean of Humanities and Social Science of the T.U. opined that theory almost fails, therefore every efforts of women s empowerment need 4

5 to be very much practical. According to Prof. Pokharel, post disaster management efforts also need to be very much practical and gender responsive. There has been some preliminary steps being carried out by the government, but various aspects of human needs and concerns, e.g., sanitation, housing, and other differential needs of people are still needs to be addressed. So for this, there should have massive consultation and dialogue with the survivors and other affected for their felt needs and other issues identification. At the end, he thanked FES for their continuous support on such sensitive issues. At the end of inauguration session, Assoc. Prof. Ms. Ama Vaidya, Coordinator of Women s Studies Program thanked all distinguished guest and the participants for providing their valuable time and inputs in the seminar. The inauguration session was hosted by Ms. Purnima Thapa, student of 18 th Batch, Women s Studies Program. 5

6 Session II: Technical Session The technical session was chaired by Ms. Laxmi Keshari Manandhar, Professor and Ex- Chief of CDHS&WSP of the T.U. Two thematic papers were presented during the technical session. The first paper, entitled Gender Sensitive Approach to Disaster Response: An Overview of 2015 Earthquake in Nepal was presented by Dr. Rajju MallaDhakal, Executive Director of South Asia Center for Policy Studies (SACEPS). Dr. Indira Sharma, Professor from the CDHS&WSP of the T.U. was the commentator of Dr. MallaDhakal s paper. The second paper entitled Earthquake effect and Gender Politics Baisakh 12 earthquake, flashback from gender perspectives was presented by Mr. Dhan Prasad Pandit, Professor from Gender Studies and Political Science of the P.K. Campus, T.U. Dr. Bindu Pokhrel, Professor of the Women s Studies and Gender Studies of the T.U. was the commentator of Prof. Pandit s paper. All the two papers with their comments are given in Annexes. Paper I: Gender Sensitive Approach to Disaster Response: A Review of 2015 Earthquake in Nepal by Dr. Rajju MallaDhakal Major Highlights of the paper, Dr. Malla started her paper by saying that gender does not only talks about women, but also talks about men and the third sex. Dr. Malla in her paper highlighted that due to the devastating earthquakes of 25 April and 12 May 2015 and post-earthquake shocks in 14 crisis-hit districts, approximately 9,000 people lost their lives, among which 55% were women. Over 22,300 people were injured with more than half a million houses collapsed or are damaged. Gender dimension of earthquake of response: Dr. Malla expressed that gender stereotypes in work/role division contribute to differential impact of earthquake. Women into HH chores are more vulnerable to death than men. She emphasized that for an effective humanitarian response it is critical to understand how crisis affects women and men, girls and boys of different ages, social conditions, disability, geography, and other diversities. Gender sensitive and socially inclusive approach to disaster response is about better targeting and programming responses according to the distinct needs of all women, men and children. 6

7 Emergency Relief Distribution: Dr. Malla has highlighted that in "crisis-hit districts" there are 284,144 female HH, 31,609 women with disabilities, 138,032 over the age of 65, and 609,247 girls aged 14 or under (Census 2011), who need emergency relief and humanitarian assistance. Although emergency relief materials such as, food, clothes, temporary shelters and primary health care (including 'dignity kits' for women and adolescent girls) were provided by the government, CSOs and individuals, however, a little attention was paid to vulnerable women due to insufficient relief materials, remoteness of the affected areas and poor weather conditions. For temporary shelters, tents were also not adequate in number so, makeshift shelters were made by using tarpaulins, the supply of which also were inadequate. This situation forced women to share facilities with relatives and neighbors, which increased the risk of GBV for women including trafficking of women and children. Criminal networks were involved in trafficking of women and children (Guardian). Recovery and reconstruction programs: Total 498,852 houses were totally damaged due to earthquake, of which 26% belonged to female HH, 41% to Dalits and indigenous groups and 23% to senior citizens. The government s announcement to provide 15 thousand rupees each to damaged household was a small hope to the survivors. People are also waiting for building back better homes. Some of them have already started rebuilding their houses on their own. Post Disaster Need Assessment (PDNA) has identified that the most vulnerable to be affected by any disasters are women, children, disabled and senior citizens. Therefore it advocates that reconstruction programs needs to be inclusive and gender empowering. Dr. Malla concluded her paper by saying that Nepal government s response efforts towards comprehensive disaster management exposed its unpreparedness. Rural poor women lack access to information especially about the relief and recovery programs including the entitlements available through the government. Even in 21 st century gender continues to be one of the weakest areas of disaster response in Nepal. 7

8 Some key recommendations given Dr. Malla were, Recovery strategies must strive to safeguard, restore, and promote economic engagement of disadvantaged groups. Institutionalization of gender responsive budgeting mechanism, which aims to translate commitments to gender equality into reality for women, will be applied to all recovery and reconstruction programs. Details of Dr. Malla s paper have given in the Annex-II. As mentioned earlier, Prof. Dr. Indira Sharma was the commentator of Dr. Malla s paper. Prof. Sharma commented on the paper as: The paper presented by Dr. Rajju Malla has expressed the reality of existing patriarchal society. Due to this, gender discrimination still exists in Nepalese society even after multiple efforts to bring gender equity and equality and also to empower women. The paper explicitly explained the incidence of catastrophic earthquake of 12 th and 29 th Baisakh, 2072 B.S. causing the death of approximately 9,000 people and injuring more than 22,000 people. Due to gender roles more affected were women and children, because they tend to spend more time in indoor chores. The paper focused on the basic needs of women and girls of reproductive age, including pregnant women, women in post natal period and their new born babies which were unmet due to natural disaster. Gender based violence in the form of sexual violence and trafficking were another risk for women during and after disaster. Many cases of GBV were not even reported because of ijjat as viewed from Nepalese cultural perspective. 8

9 As reviewed in the paper approximately 498,852 houses were damaged which constrained women s ability to engage in home-based economy and income generation thus making them poorest among the poor. According to paper presenter in the recovery program PDNA was done which recommended some relief to the survivors of earthquake especially those vulnerable women like, single women (including widows, divorcee, separated), senior citizen, women with no children, but the government was too slow to implement the programs as suggested by PDNA although financial support by international group was very encouraging. At the end, Prof. Sharma congratulated the author Dr. Rajju Malla for presenting such a sensitive and time specific issue on gender dimension of earthquake response in Nepal. Paper II: Earthquake effect and Gender Politics Baisakh 12 earthquake, flashback from gender perspectives by Prof. Dhan Prasad Pandit Major Highlights of the paper, Experiences about earthquake: Prof. Pandit started his presentation with his own childhood experience of earthquake. He also provided data about the death (more than 8,600), injuries (more than 16,000), displacement (6,70,000 people), etc. of 14 most affected districts. A slight variation in data was observed between two papers, which may be due to differences in sources. Gender Impact of Earthquake: Women have been disproportionately affected by earthquake. The data presented shows that of the total who lost their lives 38% were women and 17% were girls (total 55% women), while only 30% were men and 14% were boys. Similarly, 29% of them were illiterate, 6% women over 64 yrs old, 28% girls under 14 yrs old, 1.5% women with disabilities and 35% were other women. Prof. Pandit, existing scenario of 35,00,000 male migrants in contrast to 3,00,000 female migrants is showing cause behind more female presence in houses, taking care of their families and households, so when they face disaster it s obvious they will be impacted more by it. 9

10 Gender dimension was also observed in recovery process. Single women, female-headed households, women with disabilities and older women reported having discrimination in access to relief and information. However, women are not only victims/survivors rather they have knowledge and practical skills, which are critical to every level of relief and recovery efforts. The absence of local authority created problem in directing rescue operation and relief materials distribution so this time, people realized the dire need of local governance. Unseen Politics behind relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction: Prof. Pandit praised the role played by self-motivated youths and civil society groups, however according to him there was problem of coordination and lots of questionable loopholes that needs to be answered. Even NGOs and IMGOs showed unpreparedness including the private sectors. This time Nepal government accepted not only cash or kind assistance from other countries rather also accepted military rescue or operation for disaster management from 34 countries. As a result Nepalese security capacity, secrecy and strategic position were exposed to foreign Army s presence. There was different interest group during rescue operation and rehabilitation after earthquake damage. Some countries operation mission was involved strategic point through drone and helicopter. Foreign Donors were willing to run rescue and rehabilitation work by themselves so they could inject their relation through aid package. Few area Bible was distributed with relief packages. He concluded the paper by saying that where there is money, there is politics so, we should think about nation and learn from disaster. Details of Prof. Pandit s paper have given in the Annex-III. 10

11 As mentioned earlier, Prof. Dr. Bindu Pokharel was the commentator of Prof. Pandit s paper. Prof. Pokharel commented on the paper as: Natural hazard becomes disaster when we do not have adequate capacities to respond it. After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal we felt that we were not able to develop our capacities needed to deal with such natural hazards therefore it became a great disaster. We realize that our institutions were not capacitated as required. It was clear from the evidences that the first few hours of such event outsider can -not reach to the affected areas, the first response comes from the people around who survived. Therefore local group's capacity development should be the first priority. Local clubs, women's groups should be equipped and train to response. Gender is everywhere, socially constructed roles, and power relations shape experiences differently though the shake of earth was felt by all. The experience after the earthquake was gendered. Women and men have faced the event differently according to their ascribed and achieved status and roles (age, class, caste, occupation, physical condition and so forth). Women and men vary in needs, priorities, and capacities in Setting of disaster and their salience also varies because of differential vulnerabilities. Disaster preparation without incorporation of gender will not address women's issues and needs. Congratulating Prof. Pandit for the paper with gathering of lots of data, Prof. Pokharel told that the paper highlights the politics that different interest groups played during relief works. He brought the fact that state failed to coordinate these groups and manage relief activities according to the needs of people, though the youth volunteers of Nepal and abroad did very good works. He gave some examples of the activities of different nations during relief which were questioned by neighboring countries. In this globalized world every nation has its own strategies to influence other nations to increase its power in region and world. Nepal was not strong enough to table its own interest and minimize unnecessary influence; therefore as Pandit sir says Nepalese leader must work together to make consensus on nation's interest. Though Armed Police force and other security force involved and did appreciative role in reliefs it was not mark to people's expectation. This was because lack of adequate equipments and lack 11

12 of clarity of the roles of national and international groups involved providing relief. This was because Nepal was not able to keep its interest and manage relief works. National interest was not set and the lack of clarity on the roles and responsibility of different offices was visible in relief works. According to Pandit sir, it was discernible that the state did not have a good action oriented plans and preparation to face natural hazards though there are offices for this purpose. Such events also brought changes on gender roles, women and men came out of stereotypical gender roles. Such changes need to be recognized and established. Now I think it s a time to involve in feminist politics that will turn this situation for gender equality. At the end, Prof. Pokharel added that we need not have only action oriented plans but also gender incorporated plans to face natural hazards and prevent them to become disaster. For the second session, Vote of Thanks was provided by Ms. Laxmi Keshari Manandhar, Professor of the CDHS&WS of the T.U and opened the session for question and answers and suggestions. Question and Answer Session: After the two papers, the floor was opened for question and answers and comments and solutions. Since the area of both papers was quite new and participants already had their own experiences, all of them enjoyed the papers a lot and very few questions were asked. Some of them are: Prof. Dr. Indira Sjarma supporting to Prof. Pandit said we should or we could rebuild our houses by ourselves rather than depending on other for money or other assistance, with their direct intervention on our internal matters. 1. How do you interpret from research framing/analytical thinking? The question was asked to Dr. Malla. She responded as: An in depth study is required. 12

13 2. What is gender politics? 3. What would be the solutions for disaster response management (way out)?? The question was asked to Prof. Pandit. He responded as: Disaster occurs every yrs, we need to make resilient houses, and women should be supported until we can stand on our own feet. 4. One of the participants, the ex-students of Gender Studies suggested that in addition to the situation analysis during and after earthquake, it would be better to have some solutions or the measures with specifying the role of government and role of civil society. 13

14 Annexes 14

15 Annex: I Program Schedule 15

16 Annex II: Dr. Rajju MallaDhakal s paper Gender Sensitive Approach to Disaster Response: An Overview of 2015 Earthquake in Nepal By Rajju MallaDhakal Executive Director South Asia Center for Policy Studies (SACEPS) Presented at a Seminar organized by Women s Studies Program, Padma Kanya Campus in partnership with FES Nepal 16

17 Understanding Gender in Nepali Context (gender does not mean women) The relationships between men and women in a patriarchal society like Nepal are powerful forces that shape the actual roles and responsibilities of women and men, girls and boys in all spheres of life. The patriarchal definition of gender role leads to inequalities in terms of women s access to and control over resources including decision-making powers at the household level and in the community. It is clear that these attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. Although the gender roles are believed to be context- and time-specific, and hence changeable, they are very much present in Nepali society even today in one form or the other. Many development programs have attempted to change this age-old tradition by promoting gender equality in Nepal. Given that women are often in a disadvantaged position, most programs explicitly focus on women's empowerment which has led to some people using the term gender as synonym to women. But gender does not mean women. 17

18 Gender Sensitive Approach to Disaster Response: An Overview of 2015 Earthquake in Nepal Catastrophic Earthquake of 2015 The catastrophic earthquakes of 25 April and 12 May 2015 including over 300 aftershocks greater than magnitude 4.0 devastated parts of central and western Nepal that included hard-toreach isolated mountainous areas. Fourteen of the thirty-one affected districts were declared crisis-hit. As per the latest estimates approximately 9,000 people lost their lives and over 22,300 people were injured with more than half a million houses collapsed or are damaged. It is speculated that the time and day of the earthquake saved thousands of lives as schools were closed on Saturday. The death toll of school age children could have been much higher as almost 7,000 school buildings were damaged. PDNA estimated that the lives of eight million people, almost one-third of the population of Nepal, have been impacted by the earthquake. Gender Dimension of Earthquake 2015 The disastrous earthquake exposed the inequities in Nepali society and its different impacts on women, men, girls and boys of Nepal belonging to different age, socio-economic strata and districts. Each experienced distinct vulnerabilities owing to their gender roles which shaped the way they experienced disaster. The earthquake disproportionately impacted the poor and vulnerable including women largely residing in the rural areas. Gender based stereotypes about what men and women can and cannot do, or should and should not do, also contributed to differential impacts of earthquake often with devastating consequences. It must be noted that over 55% of the total dead are women and girls. The higher female death toll reiterates the findings of similar experiences of other countries that poor women are more vulnerable to natural disasters that occur during the daytime as many live in unsafe houses and tend to spend more time indoors. It is partly because of gendered roles that disproportionately assign indoor household chores to women (PDNA, 2015). Experiences of other countries have also shown that mortality rates in disasters are higher for women than for men. As per UNDP this is more so in countries like Nepal where gender discrimination is accepted as part of the culture. 18

19 Why Gender Sensitive Approach to Earthquake Response? It is important that the disaster response addresses the needs of all, women, men and children. However for an effective humanitarian response it is critical to understand how crisis affects women and men, girls and boys of different ages, social conditions, disability, geography, and other diversities. It must be noted that each group has distinct responsibilities, limitations, protection needs and priorities. Hence, they are exposed to differential risks and vulnerabilities and bring different strengths and weaknesses that can play important roles in responding to emergencies within their respective communities. Gender sensitive approach and social inclusion is about better targeting and programming responses accordingly and therefore it is about the effectiveness of humanitarian action. The importance of gender sensitive and socially inclusive approach to disaster response in Nepal is not just because of its geographic, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic (poverty) diversity in the 14 crisis hit districts and their differential needs, but also because women and girls belonging to diverse ethnic/caste groups are additionally disadvantaged and vulnerable than men and boys. Their vulnerability is not only because of biological and physiological differences, but also because of inequitable power relations stemming from these differences. These disadvantages can get amplified within the communities, especially when women are young, single, divorced, widowed or childless. The following section examines the gender sensitivity of emergency relief and humanitarian assistance in the immediate aftermath of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. Emergency Relief and Humanitarian Assistance to Earthquake Survivors Against the resource and time constraints effective, accountable and timely humanitarian relief and recovery was the main aim of the government, national and international humanitarian agencies, groups and individuals in the immediate aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in April and May Noteworthy was the spontaneous support by the Nepalese men and women particularly youths which tried to ensure that the different needs and capacities of women, girls, boys and men are met. Nonetheless, the country faced a huge challenge both at national and local level to coordinate and bring large numbers of agencies to work together each offering 19

20 different human and financial resources, organizations, tools and practitioners working on relief and protection -- to respond to humanitarian crises of this proportion. The remoteness of several villages in the affected areas, coupled with poor weather, hampered relief operations during the initial days. The distribution of relief material also proved challenging because of the rugged terrain, threat of landslides, and logistical difficulties. Moreover as many district level public service offices were damaged they were not able to function until tents and temporary shelters were established. Emergency Relief Distribution (immediate) The immediate focus of the government and all other agencies (civil society organizations, humanitarian groups and individuals) was on distribution of generic emergency relief packages that consisted of food items, water, tents (shelter), clothing and medicines. The unpreparedness of the government agencies was apparent in their struggling emergency relief coordination and distribution efforts. Little attention was paid to the specific needs of the groups like women, infants and small children. More importantly the needs of the vulnerable women particularly the pregnant women, nursing mothers, elderly women and women with disability including adolescent girls were not responded to through the emergency relief distribution. Integrated gender analysis across all clusters and sectors of disaster response was sorely missed. The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA 2015) later identified pregnant women, women in post natal period and new born babies as the single largest vulnerable group. Some civil society organizations (national and international) working in the Reproductive Health and Gender Based Violence sprang into action to galvanize support for the vulnerable women survivors of earthquake. The Inter-Cluster Gender Task Force was established soon after with the involvement of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, UN Agencies and Civil Society Organizations and women s groups which prompted local NGOs, groups and individuals to distribute dignity kits for women and adolescent girls as part of the emergency relief. The task force and the women s groups also advocated for the gender-sensitive relief distribution for 20

21 earth-quake survivors and appealed to all donors (institutional and individual) to be mindful of the special needs of the pregnant women, nursing mothers and other vulnerable women. UNICEF established 15 shelter homes in eight of the highly affected districts namely Dhading, Dolakha, Gorkha, Kavre, Nuwakot, Ramechhap, and Sindhupalchok for pregnant women, postnatal mothers and their newborn and under five children. The shelter homes were also provided with family hygiene and dignity kits to address the basic needs of women and girls of reproductive age. According to the 2011 census the crisis hit districts housed a total of 284,144 female headed households, 31,609 women with disabilities, 138,032 women over the age of 65, and 609,247 girls aged 14 or under. Among them 630,678 women and girls are illiterate. Likewise according to UNFPA, about a million children and over 1.4 million females of reproductive age lived in the 14 crisis hit districts. They also estimated approximately 138,000 female population are or will be pregnant in these districts in next 12 months. Of this figure, 18,600 will need obstetric care, they predicted. Temporary Shelters Attempt was made to establish temporary shelters immediately with official support in designated public spaces. However, due to the lack of government preparedness supply of adequate numbers of tents within such a short period was not possible. Hence makeshift shelters was made using tarpaulins --the supply of which also proved inadequate as the fear of being trapped drove many families, including those whose houses had not been damaged, to seek temporary shelter in the open. It must be understood that women are susceptible to incidence of gender-based violence during and after disasters. Inadequate makeshift shelters in terms of quality and quantity often force women to share the facility with families and neighbors which can increase the GBV risks for women. In addition location and design of shelters and latrines reportedly made women feel unsafe. Although a specific data on GBV is not available rumors of such incidents were rife in various camps. This should also be viewed from the cultural perspective which discourages 21

22 reporting of such incidents because of ijjat. High GBV in makeshift camps can be predicted based on the recorded incidents of gender-based violence prior to the earthquake. The National Demographic Health Survey (2011) indicated that 22% of women aged had experienced physical violence and 12% had experienced sexual violence. Likewise impunity for perpetrators of violence and a breakdown of social structures that is often prevalent in a crisis also result into increased the risk of GBV, and other forms of sexual and gender-based exploitation including trafficking. There were reports of trafficking of women and children from the camps promising women and girls jobs, proposing marriage, or seeking adoption during and after the disaster struck. Various daily vernaculars reported that groups of trafficked women were returned from India while others were stopped at the border between Nepal and India. According to a report in the Guardian (5 May 2015), criminal networks are using cover of rescue effort to target poor rural communities in Nepal for trafficking women from the country. Access to Government Relief Entitlements Out of the total 498,852 houses damaged in the earthquake, about 26 percent of the houses belonged to female-headed households, 41 percent to Dalits and indigenous communities, and 23 percent belong to senior citizens (PDNA 2015). The destruction of homes and household assets has constrained women s ability to engage in home based economies and income generation. The government s announcement to provide 15 thousand rupees each to damaged household was a small hope to the survivors of the earthquake. Although earthquake did not discriminate anybody, women, men, girls and boys experienced its impacts differently. A large number of women, in particular single women, and female-headed households, women with disabilities and older women were unaware of the relief entitlements announced by the government. The few who were aware of the announcement found the administrative process complex and discriminating in accessing the relief entitlements. Lack of government efforts to reach out to vulnerable communities particularly women with intelligible information about government relief and recovery packages created confusions and frustrations. 22

23 The women and girls in Nepal have always experienced low levels of access to opportunities such as education, healthcare, economic, social and political prior to the earthquake. Furthermore, large numbers of women and girls are marginalized by traditional practices such as exclusion during menstruation and caste designations which exacerbate the level of discrimination. The ongoing crisis is likely to greatly heighten the level of vulnerability amongst women and girls which can affect their access to government relief and recovery package. Recovery and Reconstruction Program The government successfully commissioned a comprehensive Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) with the support of various donor partners aiming to galvanize support for the reconstruction financing. Despite the time constraint the quality and scope of PDNA is commendable which also sought representation of expert women. In this respect the PDNA rightly reflects the needs of the women and marginalized communities and advocates their representation in all steps of decision making and implementation. However the government has been frustratingly slow in formulating and implementing the recovery and reconstruction policy and program. Almost six months after the earthquake the people from the 14 crisis districts are still waiting for concrete policies and programs from the government to guide building back better while some has started rebuilding in the hazard area on their own. Although the government was quick to announce a reconstruction authority it is still incomplete awaiting cabinet approval. Only time will tell how inclusive will be the authority and the recovery and reconstruction program. Women have been disproportionately impacted by the series of earthquakes; however, the tendency of the government to view them mostly as passive victims has not changed. It is crucial that women and girls participate in discussions and decision-making processes including the assessment, planning and implementation of the humanitarian and early recovery response is important to ensure the needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls are identified and addressed. There should be no discrimination based on sex, age, sexual orientation, gender, class, caste, ethnicity or ability at all stages of the humanitarian response relief, recovery and rehabilitation. 23

24 UN Women and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare facilitated a meeting with national women s groups and civil society organizations days after the earthquake. Together they developed a Common Charter of Women s Demands for Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment in the Humanitarian Response addressing the humanitarian response and early recovery strategic planning. Overview of Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in PDNA PDNA recognizes that women, who comprise more than half the population, constitute the single largest disadvantaged group to be adversely affected across key sectors. It also identifies women, children, senior citizens, PLWDs, and minorities as the most vulnerable to be affected by a disaster. Moreover it also highlights the potential competition for resources that could further increase discrimination of women, the elderly, PLWDs, Dalits and indigenous communities. Among other things, PDNA advocates reconstruction programs to be inclusive and to ensure mechanisms for facilitating joint ownership and female ownership are in place, adhered to and monitored. It suggests women and certain social groups (that are disproportionately affected) should not simply be viewed as victims. They have knowledge, social and practical skills that are critical for recovery. It advocates for institutional representation of discriminated social groups in the recovery program to ensure that they benefit equally from it and, more importantly, are not marginalized further through lack of access to the program. Some of the key recommendations are as follows: Sustained support and monitoring of protection issues, accompanied by provision of alternative livelihoods, will be crucial. Cash transfers to most vulnerable households will be essential in order to reduce the pressure on them to resort to negative coping mechanisms. Recovery strategies must strive to safeguard, restore, and promote economic engagement of disadvantaged groups. Alternative livelihoods must be promoted to build resilience in the long term. 24

25 Measures to support and promote attainment of ownership and tenure rights are crucial to ensure that post-disaster recovery programs do not reinforce the inequalities faced by women and vulnerable social groups. Similarly, mechanisms to support certification and registration of women and children to facilitate ownership of land andhomes and citizenship should be in place. The government s institutionalized gender responsive budgeting mechanism, which aims to translate commitments to gender equality into reality for women, will be applied to all recovery and reconstruction programs. Monitoring mechanisms will be established to ensure that key issues are addressed, and to track progress and facilitate accountability. Overall Observation While government of Nepal claimed to have comprehensive disaster management programs, its actual response efforts exposed its unpreparedness. In the aftermath of the disaster rural folks particularly women s access to information was dismal they were not aware of the relief and recovery programs including the entitlements available through the government. Nonetheless as shown by women in Gorkha and other districts they are the ones at the frontline as responders to disaster playing significant roles towards recovery. However, the important roles women take on have not been recognized yet, and it is likely that women will remain largely marginalized in the development of policy and decision-making processes and their voices will go unheard. Although Brookings Review (2012) reports gender dimensions of natural disasters have gained increasing recognition at the international level since the 1990s, attention to gender continues to be one of the weakest areas of disaster response in Nepal and other countries. 25

26 References A Practical Guide to Gender-Sensitive Approach for Disaster Management; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 2010 Gender and Disasters; Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP; October 2010 Nepal Earthquake 2015: Post Disaster Needs Assessment, Volume A, Key Findings; National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal; 2015 The Year of Recurring Disasters: A review of Natural Disasters in 2012; By Elizabeth Ferris, DanialPitz and Chareen Stark: The Brookings Institution and London School of Economics, March

27 Annex: III Prof. Dhana Prasad Pandit s paper One day seminar By Gender Studies With Collaboration of FES/Nepal Earthquake effect and Gender Politics Baisakh 12 earthquake, flashback from gender perspectives A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society causing widespread human, material, economic or environmental losses which exceed the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources is termed as natural disaster. Among the range of disasters earthquake is one of them. Nepal is as disaster prone country. Floods, landslides, epidemics and fires cause considerable loss of life and property in Nepal every year. Earthquakes, on the other hand are not so frequent, but have the potential for causing the greatest damage. Nepal is seismic prone country and the risk it faces from earthquakes is very high. Nepal is among the high risk countries in terms of earthquake occurrences. Past records have shown that Nepal can expect two earthquakes of magnitude on the Richter scale every forty years and one earthquake of magnitude of 8+ in Richter scale every eight years. Recent earthquake on 25 th April, 2015, with magnitude of 7.8 Richter scale followed by hundreds of aftershock is last great earthquake faced by Nepal. When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, almost 5, 00,000 infrastructures were damaged fully or partially, almost 6, 70,000 people were displaced, ultimately more than 8,600 lost their lives in the tragedy and more than 16,000 were injured. One might think that a natural disaster such as an earthquake does not discriminate but women, men, girls, and boys experience their impacts differently. In case of country like Nepal with its own limitation and socially segregated gender roles even natural disasters were not gender neutral. Not only do natural disasters kill women more than men but in Nepal, 38% of those who lost their lives were women and 17% were girls, while only 30% were men and 14% were boys the recovery process has a gendered dimension as well. Existing scenario of 35,00,000 male migrants in 27

28 contrast to 3,00,000 female migrants is showing cause behind more female presence in houses taking care of their families and households, so when they face disaster it s obvious they will be impacted more by it. In the earthquake and following aftershocks, disasters and crisis situations often exacerbate previously existing dimensions of marginalization, discrimination, and vulnerability. That is precisely what is happening today in Nepal. Even before the earthquake, women and girls in Nepal faced discrimination, violence, and additional day-to-day difficulties simply as a result of their gender. It is imperative that we consider the gendered dimensions of disaster when we think about supporting people through the relief and recovery phases. In Nepal, women, in particular single women, female-headed households, women with disabilities and older women, are reporting discrimination in access to relief and information. Men are experiencing higher levels of stress due to their inability to fulfill their traditional gender role as family providers, leading to a reported increase in substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Women have been disproportionately impacted by the earthquakes; however, simply viewing them as victims only exacerbates their vulnerability. Women have knowledge, relationships and practical skills that are critical to every level of relief and recovery efforts. It is crucial that there is no discrimination based on sex, age, sexual orientation, gender, class, ethnicity or ability at all stages of the humanitarian response. The unique needs of women, men, girls and boys including security, health and access to services must be incorporated in analyses of disaster risk and post disaster risk assessments, while also recognizing their right to dignity. Not all women and girls are equally vulnerable and not all men and boys are equally less vulnerable. Unseen politics behind relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction: Following news of such devastation, international attention quickly turned to this tiny country sandwiched between two giant nations China and India like a yam between two boulders as a local saying goes. Immediately after the disaster, there was a chaos situation in all the disaster touched, the most severe case could be represented by the situation of Kathmandu valley. The capital city of nation when got hit as district on the cover range of disaster epicenter at Gorkha, 28

29 people in valley nearly felt government less for first few hours. The role played by selfmotivated youth was worth praising, but in that also government coordination has lots of questionable loopholes on its capability of channeling that manpower in right direction. In youth mobilization the role of young women and girls whether it was in hospital arena, adjoining camps or heavily affected villages of Gorkha or Sindhupalchowk was commendable. Many youth studying and staying abroad even showed their enthusiasm in human welfare. It also got time to unify Nepal, but from governance perspective, lots of loopholes were seen during the time of disaster. Even though there was disaster preparedness plan on paper and well specified channel mentioned in the plan but at the time of disaster absence of local authority created confusion in directing relief operational plan. Undesirably we have to accept that the tough time showed us real capability, effectiveness and government preparedness for disaster. We even faced the bitter reality of our government devoid of 100 tents for each districts as well. People for the first time thus realized the dire need of local governance. There is always role played by local and international politics in every scenario. Similarly in case of last earthquake many factors played role. UNDP Nepal and its agency increase 33% allowance after earthquake disaster in Nepal showing the cause of danger zone. Instead of helping effected people in earthquake damaged district, donor countries and agencies spent 40 billion rupees directly without government consultation. This condition got worse when the disaster relief operation was supported by Politics is involved in each and every step relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Way forward: When consulting communities both women and men need to be engaged, as well as the different ethnic groups, castes and/or social classes represented in those communities. Problem of Human security and Natural or Human Disaster?? 29

30 Human Security Network : "A human world where people can live in security and dignity,free from poverty and despair, is still a dream for many and should be enjoyed by all.in such a world every individual would be guaranteed freedom from fear and freedom from want,with an equal opportunity to fully develop their human potential.building human security is essential to achieving this goal.in essence,human security means freedom from pervasive threats to people's right,their safety or even their lives." Government of Japan: "Human security may be defined as the preservation and protection of the life and dignity of individual human being. Japan holds the view, as do many other countries, that human security can be ensured only when the individual is confident of a life free of fear and free of want." Nepal is facing human security situation after Earthquake,which is not change in to safety and security for the effected People.Now Indian Economic Blocked add more security threat after 7.8 MT Earthquake. Conclusion Price of Rescue mission: - Few Military Areas are still Under Foreign presence. Though there were 34 Countries Military Lead Operation Group Involve after Earthquake Disaster management. Nepal do not welcome foreign Assistance and Human involvement in Rescue During BS 1990 Earth Quake.First time Nepal welcome Foreign Assistance Cash or Kind during the Big Flood and landslide in 2011 BS.This Year we welcome Military Rescue or operation For Disaster management from 34 countries.which was almost difficult to channelize and control within rescue work. Nepal opens its Security sector as well as highly valuable areas (Military Area and, Narayanhiti area) for their stay and work which make our security point weak. 80% Foreigner were male due to Global Military dominated by Male from long historic period. Nepalese Security capacity, secrecy and strategic position became exposed to foreign Army presence. 30

31 There was different interest group during rescue operation and rehabilitation after earthquake damage. Some countries operation mission was involved strategic point through drone and helicopter. Foreign Donors were willing to run rescue and rehabilitation work by themselves so they could inject their relation through aid package. Few area Bible was distributed with relief package and local people rejected their assistance. Dhan Prasad Pandit Professor Gender Studies and Political Science Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Bagbazar, Kathmandu, Nepal 31

32 Annex: IV Photographs Distinguished Authorities: Representatives of FES and the Dean and Professors of the Tribhuvan University in the Dias. Mr. Dev Raj Dahal, The Director from FES Nepal delivering Key Notes on inaugural session 32

33 Campus Chief Prof. Ramesh Shrestha delivering speech on Inaugural session Prof. Dr. Chinta Mani Pokharel, The Dean of Humanities and Social Science of the T.U. delivering Key Notes on Inaugural session. 33

34 Participants of the Seminar Participants of the Seminar 34

35 Dr Rajju MallaDhaka presenting her paper Prof. Dhana Prasad Pandit presenting his paper 35

36 Ex-Student of Gender Studies asking questions Current Student of Women s Studies 18 th Batch, asking questions. 36

37 37