Feminisation of adaptation interventions in Bangladesh: An intersectional analysis

Abstract

Community-based adaptation to climate change seeks to build the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable people in developing countries. Primarily implemented by non-governmental organisations, these initiatives are often operationalised by organising ‘poor women’ in order to empower them to address community risks associated with climate change. Yet, there is little known about how women experience these adaptation initiatives and whether such interventions empower them. Drawing on a qualitative case study, this article reports on the experiences of poor women in Bangladesh who participated in group-based adaptation interventions designed to enhance both individual and collective agency to respond to climate change. We found that women faced constraints from their own families and communities, which undermined their potential to be empowered and to exercise agency in both private and public spheres. Gender norms intersected with social class, age and marital status to impede women who remained bound by societal norms and undermined their adaptive capacity. We argue that the trend to feminise adaptation interventions is not a panacea for addressing societal barriers to climate adaptation; in fact, it can exacerbate local vulnerabilities. We suggest that future adaptation interventions must adopt cultural pathways aligned with societal norms to effectively build local capacities to address climate change.