Women are more likely than men to suffer during natural disasters

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 28 (ANI): Women are more likely than men to suffer when disaster strikes, a Pakistan-based journalist said calling for the need for media to highlight the plight of women, and the unequal effects of natural disasters in the wake of the recent devastating floods in Pakistan.
“In times of natural calamity, the poor, the disabled, and women are more vulnerable and disproportionately affected,” a Karachi-based journalist Lubna Jerar Naqvi wrote for Geo News.
It is said that natural disasters are equalizers. They don’t discriminate between class, religion, and gender, yet this is not entirely true, she added.
Naqvi quoted the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Asako Okai, who recently said that when disaster strikes, women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die.
Since July, Pakistan has been in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. Deadly floods have ravaged the country, affecting 15 per cent of its population.
To date, over 1,000 people have lost their lives, while 1,527 have been injured since June 14 from the rains and floods, according to the official tally.
These figures do not give an accurate picture of how many women have been killed, injured, and displaced. Moreover, coverage of women and girls is missing from mainstream media and social media. This is when women make up around 48.5 per cent of Pakistan’s population.
Cumulative data from June 14 from across Pakistan showed that 3,451.5 km of road has been damaged, and 149 bridges have collapsed, 170 shops were destroyed.
Furthermore, a total of 949,858 homes have been partially or fully destroyed. Out of the total, 6,62,446 homes have been partially damaged, and 287,412 have been fully destroyed. While 7,19,558 livestock has also been killed.
Naqvi said that the destruction of infrastructure will impact women more than men, as women spend more time at home, which means with so many homes damaged, thousands of women along with their children are outdoors.
Now, being forced to remain in the open, and share space with strangers, could leave an impact on a woman’s mental state, she added.
After the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, some 2.8 million people were rendered homeless and 73,000 people were killed.
As per estimates by rescue organizations, thousands of women were injured and killed in the disaster, and even more, were left with no roof over their heads.
During the 2010 floods, out of the nearly 20 million affected 85 per cent were women and children and 500,00 were pregnant women, as per media reports.
After the current flood situation, with no roads, women would have to wade through muddy waters and heavy rain to complete basic chores, making them vulnerable to diseases and even assault.
“It is important to remember that there are still areas in Pakistan where women do not have access to health care facilities. Also, young girls, who are separated from their families, could become victims of traffickers and other criminals,” the Karachi-based journalist wrote.
Naqvi called for a need to highlight the plight of women, and the unequal effects of natural disasters and urged the government authorities to make arrangements to send more female journalists into the field to tell stories of women and other ignored members of the population.
She said, “If the media focuses on such stories it could also help the authorities and rescue workers understand the different needs of the affected population. Such as the health needs of a pregnant woman, a growing girl, or a mother.”
Apart from this, over time, she said, “female lawmakers should rise above their political differences and develop a proper system that can improve the process of rescuing women in affected areas, by, for example, making it mandatory, at every level of the government, to have women-rescue personnel and a woman-friendly disaster management protocol.”
Pakistan is experiencing one of the worst hit natural calamities in years. The floods affected the lives of millions of people after which the Pakistan government declared a “national emergency”.
At least 110 districts of Pakistan have been hit by the floods with 72 of those districts declaring calamity hit, National Disaster Management Authorities’ estimates showed that more than 33 million of the population have been affected by the floods.
The NDMA shared that Pakistan’s 30-year average showed that the country has received 134mm of rain and this year it received 388.7mm of rain. 190.07% more than the average.
On 26 August, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) issued a warning that very high to exceptionally high-level flooding is expected in River Kabul at Nowshera in KP province, as well as in tributaries of the Kabul and Indus rivers until 28 August. (ANI)