III-Activities of Men and Women in Different Situation

Intermediate Technology Development Group

Nepal Country Office

(Draft Report)

IMPACT OF DISASTER ON GENDER

A CASE STUDY OF FLOOD INNEPAL

Centre for Policy Studies

Rabi Bhawan

GPO Box: 5386, Kathmandu

September, 2000

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, we would like to express our deep gratitude to Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG), Nepal Country Office and its Country Director (CD) Dr. K. B. Rokaya for entrusting this task to us and providing logistics and other support in the course of the study. We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to the ITDG staffs, especially Dr. Govinda Nepal, Programme Manager, Energy Sector, Mr. Alok Rajouria, Manager, Programme Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, and Mr. Rishi Wagle, Programme Manager, Transport Unit for their support and encouragement.

Many individuals have helped us in the course of this study in one way or another. Without their co-operation and help the study would not have come to the present shape. Although it may not be possible to mention the names of all, we would like to record our sincere thanks to various persons associated with different offices, as mentioned below, without offending the generosity of others.

In the Ministry of Home, we received cooperation and help from Mr. Padam Prasad Pokharel, Secretary, Mr. Bijaya Raj Bhattarai, Joint Secretary, Mrs. Usha Nepal, Joint Secretary, Dr. Min Bahadur Poudel, Under Secretary, Mr. Lekha Nath Pokharel, Section Officer, Mr. Raj Kumar Niraula, Section Officer, and Mr. Damodar Dhakal, and Mr. Bishnu Bhakta Sigdel.

In the Ministry of Defence, we were helped by Mr. Keshav Raj Rajbhandary, Secretary, and Mr. Yuba Raj Sharma, Joint Secretary.

In Nepal Police Force, Mrs. Sheela Karki, Mr. Mohan Binod Pokhrel, Mr. Thakur Mohan Shrestha, Mr. Kamal Singh Bam, Mr. Ramji Thapa and Mr. Dilip Basnet were very helpful to us.

Mr. Murari Binod Pokharel of United Mission to Nepal, Mr. Kedar Rizal of Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention, Ministry of Water Resources, Mr. Kabindra Bahadur Bista of Ministry of Works and Physical Planning, and Mr.Singha Raj Uprety, of Nepal Administration Staff College (NASC) also helped us in various ways. Officials of Department of Mining and Geology, Department of Soil Conservation, Luthern World Service, Nepal Red Cross Society, N-Set, ICIMOD, JOCV / JICA and UNDP were also helpful to us.

In Chitwan, we received considerable support from the officials of local bodies and other persons. They were Mr. Babu Ram Puri, Padampur Rehabilitation Commission, Mr. Bishnu Ghimire, President, and Mr. Jagannath Thapaliya, Vice President DDC, Mr. Tika Ram Aryal, CDO, Mr. Prakash Raj Poudel, DAO, Mr. Keshav Devkota and Mr. Ram Krishna Bagale, Buffer Zone Development Committees, RoyalChitwanNational Park, Mr. Rameshwor Koirala, ADB/N Chitwan and Mr. Naranjan Lal Kakshyapati, Lions Club Narayangadh.

In the survey VDCs, Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen extended laudable help and support. They are Mr. Gopal Raj Pathak, Piple, Mr. Bal Krishna Lohani, Bhandara, Mr. Kashi Ram Chaudhary, Kathar, Mr. Krishna Lal Chaudhary, Kumrose and Mr. Hari Bhakta Ghimire, Bachhauli.

Mr. Narayan Ban and Mr. Mohan Khatiwada, Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Ratna Nagar Municipality, Mr. Yadav Pathak, Chairman, Jutpani VDC, Mr. Ek Dev Ghimire (Master Ba), Govind Pathak and Mrs. Sushila Acharya, Social Workers of Chitwan also provided necessary support in the field.

Mr. Kanchan R. Pandey, Mr. Hari R. Pandey and Mr. Sanjay Deo of MillenniumComputerCenter provided efficient secretarial services.

A special word of thank is due to the study team members for bearing with the difficult situation in the course of field survey and for their contribution to the preparation of report from their respective capacities.

Last but not least, we are highly thankful to the households and women, who despite their agonies and sufferings, patiently listened and replied to our queries.

8 September, 2000

Prof. ( Dr. ) Sri Ram Poudyal

Director

Center for Policy Studies

Kathmandu, Nepal

STUDY TEAM

Prof. (Dr.) Sri Ram Poudyal-Team Leader

Mr. Alok Rajouria-ITDG Co-ordinator

Mr. Phanindreshwar Poudel-Sociologist

Dr. Jamal Devi Shrestha-Gender Expert

Dr. Bamadev Sigdel-Development Economist

Mr. Harish Chandra Acharya-Economist / Social Communication

Mr. Rishav Sigdel-IT Expert

Mr. Narayan Khadka-Research Assistant

Mr. Bhanja Kaji Bajracharya-Research Assistant

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Gender Issues in the Context of Disaster1

1.2 Study Objectives1

1.3 Methodology2

II. hOUSEHOLD Characteristics

2.1 Caste / Ethnicity4

2.2 Family Size5

2.3 Age Composition5

2.4 Educational Status5

2.5 Possession and Use of Skills6

2.6 Occupation6

2.7 Land Holding6

III. HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES

3.1 Normal Situation8

3.2 In Preparation for Disaster9

3.3 In Disaster Situation10

3.4 In Post - Disaster Situation11

IV. IMPACT OF DISASTER

4.1 Impact in General13

4.2 Impact by Occupational Groups14

4.3 Impact on Women 14

4.4 Case Studies15

V. REFLECTION OF GENDER ISSUES IN Disaster management

5.1 Needs and Concerns of Women30

5.2 Rescue Operation 32

5.3 Relief Measures33

5.4 Rehabilitation Programmes 33

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

6.1 Conclusions34

6.2 Recommendations36

- 1 -Center for Policy Studies / ITDG, Nepal

ANNEX:Household Characteristics40
I.INTRODUCTION

1.1Gender Issues in the Context of Disaster

Natural Disasters of various types are common phenomena in Nepal,entailing severe suffering for the households affected and the society at large. Among various types of natural disasters, flood accounts for more than 90 percent of disaster affected people. The loss of property from flood is also equally very high. But there is a dearth of information on the socio-economic effects of floods, particularly on the responses of the affected households to cope with disaster at its occurrence and afterwards and the effect on their livelihood. There is virtually no information on gender differential responses about women's condition in terms of access to food and work-loads for earning livelihood and managing the household. Natural disasters affect the entire family but the vulnerability of women is much greater because of their subordinate position in the family. Studies undertaken to analyze the condition of women in rural parts of South Asian countries reveal worse condition of women relatively to men within households even under normal livelihood condition due to patriarchy and traditionally embedded cultural values. These studies reveal higher female mortality owing to women's high maternal mortality rates, inequalities in food intake relative to men, unequal work burden due to productive as well as reproductive responsibility, lack of control over the means of production, limited facilities for training and lack of employment, etc. The hardships faced by the women of poorer households become worst when the households are the victims of natural disaster. Natural disasters like flood also cause damages to the surrounding environment and sources of water. Since the main gatherers of fuel, fodder and water are the women, their daily search for these require considerable time. Shortages of food compel them to less nutritious food, or miss some meals altogether because women are the last members to eat in the family.

The social implication of disaster is an undocumented and unexplored area in Nepal. The available information on disasters is mainly concerned with quantification of loss and technical analysis of various types of natural disasters that have occurred in Nepal and preventive mechanisms.

1. 2Study Objectives

The main objective of the study is to analyze gender issues and concerns in the context of disaster and suggest ways of incorporating gender based capacities into disaster mitigation and management planning. The issue is examined with reference to flood.

The specific objectives are to:

i. analyze the economic and non-economic activities performed by men and women in managing the family during normal time, at the time of flood, and in post-flood situation;

ii. examine the differential impact of disaster on different occupational groups and age cycles of women;

iii. identify issues and concerns of women's of various age cycles;

iv. analyze whether gender based needs and concerns are taken care of in rescue /relief and rehabilitation programmes;

v.suggest measures to make flood mitigation and relief planning more effective and gender sensitive;

1.3 Methodology

The study is based on a field survey of five VDCs of Chitwan district. Chitwan was chosen for field survey because it was one of the hardest hit districts by the devastating flood of 1993. The district is at a road distance of 145 km from Kathmandu and is also connected by air. The East West Highway passes through this district. The district is situated in between the Trishuli River at Mungling and Narayani River in the north south side and the Lother, Manohari and Rapti rivers in the east west side. The latter three rivers confluence at different points and join the NararyaniRiver. All these Rivers of the district experienced severe flood owing to extremely intense rainfall on July 20-21 and August 10-11, 1993 in the MahabharatRanges. RaptiRiver broke fragile embankment at Sungurmara of Piple VDC and gushed into the settlements. The settlements lying along the lower sides of these Rivers were fully or partially swept away with lesser and lesser impact on the farther as well as interior settlements from east to west. The NarayaniRiver also inundated some areas and in Madi area river Riu caused the flood. A total 20 VDCs of the district is estimated to have been affected by the flood of 1993. Of these, five VDCs were purposively selected to cover the most severely affected areas and the families. These were Piple, Bhandara, Kathar, Kumrose and Bachhauli, in order of the severity of flood in terms of losses of lives, property and infrastructure. The severity was judged after consultation with the CDO who is also the Chairman of the District Disaster Relief Committee, DDC Chairman, LDO and knowledgeable persons of the district.

A total of 100 flood-affected households at the rate of about 20 each from the selected VDCs were surveyed for gathering data and information. Households are used as the sampling unit rather than individual woman because the problems of women are linked with the characteristics and the condition of the households. The sexual or gender division of labour in the households, women's livelihood options, and the relative position of women to men within the household under different stress situations can not be visualized in isolation of economic, social, and organizational set up to which they belong. Variation in the condition of women because of class, caste, age, assets, differences in the forms of work organization and modes of production are seen as being specially important in order to obtain realistic generalization. Women and adolescent girls of the sampled households were also interviewed in order to probe deeper into issues and concerns of women of different age cycles and in different situations. Likewise, elderly women of the households were also interviewed to find out their needs and concerns.

The data collection techniques consisted of:

systematic interviews of the flood affected families at the place of resettlement or initial place;

observations written down and reviewed in the field;

non-systematic interviews with the women including case studies and oral histories;

focussed group discussions of males and females of the communities in the selected VDCs; and

interviews with the VDC Chairpersons and the members of local clubs.

The fieldwork was carried out between July 24 and August 10, 2000. The team of field researchers consisted principally of team leader, sociologist, gender studies specialist, development economist, communication expert and two graduates having experience in field research. A two-member research team spent one week in preparatory work, identifying and visiting the seriously affected VDCs, meeting the Chairmen of respective VDCs and carrying out house listing. The team also met the DDC Chairman, CDO, LDO, District Police, and Army Chiefs and NGOs involved in rescue/ relief and rehabilitation programmes. A second visit was made to each of the five VDCs to carry out the household level interviews, in-depth interviews with the VDC Chairmen, interviews with the local clubs and focus group discussions. The household interviews were made in places of resettlement and initial places of residence. A large majority of households in Piple and Bhandara and Bachaulli are resettled in new places, while in Kathar, and Kumrose families are staying in their old houses after removal of debris and repair of damages caused by the flood. Some families in these VDCs have also built new houses at nearby places. The households were selected using stratified random sampling technique in order to have representation of all castes and ethnic communities.

HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS

Household is an organization within which both sexes live and work to produce and consume goods essential for survival of the members belonging to it. The socio-economic background of the family to which they belong largely determines women's position in the household. Women who belong to well-to-do households do not have to enter the labour market as wage earners and simply remain as housewives. However, child bearing and rearing reduce their capacity to move freely and seek outside jobs. Women in poorer households not only have to carry out the whole gamut of household works crucial for family maintenance – cooking, cleaning, and collection of water, fodder and fuel wood, they also have to perform wage work. Thus, the work burden that the women have to bear in normal condition and in a situation of disaster are linked to the characteristics of the household to which they belong. The characteristics are generally analyzed in terms of caste, family size, educational status and land ownership. Apart from family characteristics, the environment, and ecology of the area also has a direct influence on the life and opportunities of women. Status of natural resources such as pastures, water and vegetation affect the lives of women, as they are the ones who collect fuel wood and fodder, and fetch water. The basic characteristics of the households under study are presented in Table A.1 in the Annex.

2.1 Caste / Ethnicity

The flood affected pockets and the resettlement areas are marked by stable social organizations with assimilative and less caste ridden culture. The dominant castes are Brahmin/Chhetri, Magar/Tamang and Lama, Darai, Danuwar Rai, Tharu, Bote and Damai/Kami/Sarki. The Brahmins also did not enjoy socio-economic preeminence as in other hill and terai areas of the country, probably because of their weaker economic position. Of 100 households selected randomly for interview, 20 belonged to high caste Hindus (Brahmin and Chhetri), 1 belonged to Newar, 4 belonged to low caste Hindus (Kami Damai and Sarki), 17 belonged to hill ethnics (Magar and Tamang) and 58 belonged to terai ethnics (Darai, Danuwar Rai, Tharu and Bote ). Majority of the households (90 percent ) are nuclear and the rest are in joint family system. This has implications on the position of women in decision making. Women in the nuclear family enjoy relatively more freedom in family decision making than in the joint family where the elders dominate decision making.

2.2Family Size

The total population of 100 households is 581, of which 278 are females. The average family size of the households surveyed is 5.8 persons, which is almost the same as the national average estimated at 5.7 persons. The average family size of high caste Hindus is relatively bigger than other ethnic communities - 6.8 persons compared to 6 persons for low caste Hindus, 4.5 persons for hill ethnics and 5.8 persons for terai ethnics.

2.3 Age Composition

The age composition of the population shows that 13.3 percent are below 6 years of age, 24.4 percent below 14 years of age, 57 percent in the age group 14-59, and 5.3 percent in the age group 60 and above. The law does not permit employment of children below the age 14. So, economically active population defined as those persons in the age group 14 and above is 62.3 percent. In rural areas elderly people in the seventies and early eighties also work in the farm as well as non-farm activities as wage labourers.

2.4 Educational Status

Literacy and education status of family members is an important factor in determining livelihood activities and the capacity to cope with the abnormal situation. Education of women is a crucial factor in availing employment opportunity outside home and in managing disaster. The literacy rate of household heads shows that 63 persons out of 100 are literate. However only 20 household heads have become literate through formal schooling system. Regarding literacy of family members, 63 percent is literate, which is significantly higher than the national literacy rate of 48 percent. However, the sex differential in the literacy rate is very high. The literacy rate for females is only 39 percent as against 82 percent for males. Literacy rate among lower caste and hill as well terai ethnics is very low.