Author: Farha Naz
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Diss. no.GD-19-01
Year: 2019
Academic Program: Gender and Development Studies (GDS)
Type: Thesis (Ph. D.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2019
Examination Committee: Philippe Doneys (Chairperson); Kyoko Kusakabe, Mokbul Morshed Ahmad, Julaikha Hossain (Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: Vulnerabilities arising from geographic and economic conditions influence the capacity and ability for people to adapt to floods. However, these vulnerabilities are compounded, especially in developing nations, by social context, gender, and the role of institutions. The findings of this dissertation highlight the gendered dimensions of vulnerability, the factors that determine the adaptation strategies men and women adopt, and their adaptive capacity to floods in the context of char farming households in the Zanjira sub-district of Bangladesh. A survey of 129 households was conducted. In each household, husbands and wives were interviewed separately (115 men and 128 women). To complement data from the household survey questionnaires, an additional 63 interviews were conducted with key informants (KIIs), in- depth interviews (IDIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs). Vulnerability is significantly determined by gender and social status. The study revealed that floods have different impacts on men and women: key indicators reveal that women are more vulnerable than men in char farming households. Social interactions in the Zanjira char farming communities also reveal gender-based differences in the receiving and giving of support. Women’s social time is limited due to perceived gender roles and relations women are weighed down by household responsibilities embedded in socio-cultural norms and beliefs specific to their context. Female respondents are denied opportunities to increase their adaptive capacity because of a lack of education, access to natural capital, and mobility. Notably, women’s lack of mobility inhibits participation in public life and is enforced through religious, cultural, and social norms. Socioeconomic characteristics were found to have a significant correlation with respondents’ ability to cope with and adapt to floods. The findings of this research show that access to formal level of education, access to agricultural land, and the availability of agricultural labor a
Scholarship Donor(s): Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship
Note: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctoral of Philosophy in Gender and Development Studies, School of Environment, Resources and Development
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