In 2004, the devastating effects of the Tsunami on one of India’s poorest states – Tamil Nadu – had a substantial impact on some of the country’s most marginalised and vulnerable women, increasing poverty and economic insecurity. WOMANKIND Worldwide’s 2005 report is based on the experiences of the communities our partners were working with in southern India.
Why women?
When the tsunami hit the coastal communities in this southern Indian state, an estimated 890,885 people were affected and 7932 lost their lives. A high percentage of these were women who had stayed behind to gather their children, and did not have the strength to hold on to them and a stabilising object at the same time. Furthermore, many women did not know how to swim, or were hampered in doing so by their sari dresses. Not only were women and girls less likely to survive the tsunami, women -- and single women in particular -- were often missed from relief efforts that focused on male heads of households and on replacing the assets of the fisherfolk community. Women and girls’ items, such as sanitary pads and items of female clothing, were often missing from relief packets and development efforts often failed to replace assets relating to women’s earning potential, such as tailoring, fish vending, and thatch- and coir-production equipment.
Equipment traditionally used for the work of the tribal communities was not replaced within relief efforts. In addition, within relief camps, tribal and lower-caste groups were also discriminated against in relation to access to rations, water and shelter --indicating that the interaction of gender with other discrimination made tribal and dalit women and girls particularly vulnerable to violence and intimidation. Increased incidents of early marriage were also reported in some areas, particularly amongst men who had lost their children and whose wives had been previously sterilised.
‘the interaction of gender with other discrimination made tribal and dalit women and girls particularly vulnerable to violence and intimidation’
Whilst there was good practice from WOMANKIND’s partners, opportunities to develop shared ownership of traditionally male assets within the household and community were often missed by other development efforts Rehabilitation efforts could also have benefited more marginalised groups by using their skills, such as thatching, within government reconstruction efforts.
Based on these findings, WOMANKIND recommended that there is improved participatory data collection following emergencies to specifically identify how gender interacts with emergencies to impact on communities. This data can then be used to meet the specific needs of women and marginalised groups, including those in relief camps.
Development agencies should ensure they support women’s existing coping mechanisms and income-generation activities. The good practice of WOMANKIND’s partners in tackling gender and social inequality through redistribution of assets within aid programmes, as documented in Gender and tsunami relief and rehabilitation, offers excellent opportunities for replication in other emergency contexts.
