Gender mainstreaming: A lasting solution to disaster risk reduction

Abstract

Disasters threaten resources as well as displace millions of people globally. It is undisputable that disasters have gender dimensions. However, most African countries are still lagging behind as far as the holistic integration of gender mainstreaming into national policies, particularly on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The purpose of this article was to unpack the consequence of overlooking gender in DRR, thereby highlighting its importance. The study followed a comparative study design, by using two case studies of Mumbwa District in Zambia and Chivi District in Zimbabwe. The specific objectives were to examine the disaster risks in both Mumbwa and Chivi districts, analyse the DRR strategies used in both districts and highlight the critical success factors derived from gender mainstreaming in DRR in these cases. Findings showed that gender mainstreaming is not only an important tool in DRR but also a sustainable development initiative. Despite challenges faced by countries in DRR, gender mainstreaming should always be considered as their first line of action in DRR.

Adoption of Conservation Agriculture as a Disaster Risk Reduction Tool in Chivi District, Zimbabwe

“…Social dimensions such as marital status are also of importance in the adoption of a new agricultural system [24]. Marital status and gender are critical in decision making, especially in crucial issues such as adoption of a new farming system.…”

“…The strength of gender roles in decision making and land ownership might not be visible on the ground but has a huge indirect influence on adoption of an agricultural innovation such as CA [25]. These gender roles are well-defined in Chivi, a predominantly rural district with only 30 out 32 rural wards [20,24].…”

Gender in Disaster Mitigation

“…Meanwhile, the stereotypes of gender roles circulated in a community is built with the basis of social and economy discourse which shows gender roles in a specific area (Banford & Froude, 2015;Akerkar & Fordham, 2017). It is also traditional discourse which instills access from gender to the society (Reyes & Lu, 2015;Chineka, Musyoki, Kori, & Chikoore, 2019). Gender-inclusive discourses in the context of disasters could create gender participation in disaster mitigation (Thapa & Pathranarakul, 2019).…”

“…Meanwhile, in a resiliency process, the role of sex is relatively less influential than the role of gender with feminine attributes itself (Young et al, 2017). There exists traditional discourse which built gender discourse in a form of stereotypes in disaster mitigations (Banford & Froude, 2015;Akerkar & Fordham, 2017;Chineka et al, 2019). Patriarchy dominance in a society (Thapa & Pathranarakul, 2019) could create difficulties for women to be given a responsibility in decision-making positions (Hemachandra et al, 2018).…”

fulfillment of pregnancy-related needs of women in refugee camps in Indonesia: A phenomenology study

“…In addition, women cannot quickly leave their house when a disaster occurs as they would need certainty on whether their children are safe or not, in addition to her having to carry or lead her child to safety. This is also evidenced by the tsunami disaster in Aceh in 2004, where most of the women killed were inseparable from their young children or were found in a position where they were still holding their children (Chineka, Musyoki, Kori, & Chikoore, 2019).…”