Women Engagement in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Study on the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

In Bangladesh's vulnerable southern coastal regions, where populations are more susceptible to regular natural disasters including cyclones and tidal surges, the proposed research aims to fill a significant knowledge gap regarding Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) activities.Despite the fact that Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiatives are crucial for building community resilience, gender-specific viewpoints especially those related to women, who frequently shoulder excessive loads both during and following natural catastrophes —are mostly ignored in the DRR process.It is essential to focus on how women are coping with climate change, how gender influences climate change decision-making, and how gender affects adaptation and mitigation. Typically, women are heavily involved in the preparedness, response and recovery phases of disasters. By exchanging knowledge, they have already played a crucial part in helping their families and communities prepare for disasters. They save their elderly and young relatives during disasters as well as offer food and clean water after a tragedy, in addition to medical attention to the sick and disabled. Their engagement frequently leads to improved performance and has a profound impact on the local communities they assist.For this study, three selected villages (Jaliakhali, Char Padma, Char chandupara) from three selected Upazilai.e.Dacope, Pathorghata,kolapara from Khulna, Barguna and Patuakhali district will be selected because a large portion of the coastal population is impoverished and vulnerable to several natural calamities, including land erosion, cyclones, storm surges, sea level rise, and saline intrusion. The participants will be women belong to the age more than 18, they must have experienced at least two natural disasters (cyclone or flood) and must be a permanent resident of the selected study areas.This study will adopt an explanatory sequential mixed research method, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches.The survey will be used in the quantitative phase of this study and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and In-depth Interviews (IDI) will be used inqualitative phase.Through the study, we hope to improve policy and practice, empower women as active agents in decreasing disaster risks in coastal Bangladesh, and shed light on the unique vulnerabilities faced by women and their potential contributions to resilience-building efforts.

• Supervision