Gender Issues in Disaster: Understanding the Problems Involved for Women Vulnerability, Sustainability, and Awareness in Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigates the gender issues in disaster and analyses the relationships between vulnerability sustainability and awareness following a qualitative method on the basis of secondary sources. The study notes that the women living in coastal areas are facing more difficulties due to the complexity of atmosphere where their activities are not properly recognized in disaster planning and management. However, the study showed that women, particularly belong to the poor families are primarily responsible for their domestic roles due to culturally dominated labor division. The study also recommended that women should be involved in emergency planning and disaster management process through ensuring their active participation. The inclusion of greater number of women in the emergency management profession could help in the long term to address disaster risks. Since, the underlying cultural, social, and economic patterns that lead to a low socio-economic status of women and thereby generate their specific susceptibility to disasters. Though, such initiatives have not addressed like their entire adverse impact on socio-economic status in recent literature, the present study is an initiative to address the women’s involvement in preparedness and capacity building at the community level as well as household level which the vulnerable women are striving with the frequent disasters to sustain in the planet.