It’s self-contradictory that Bangladesh, despite being a groundbreaker in developing early warning systems for environmental hazards and climate disasters; its susceptibility to gender-based violence in climate disasters on women is always at an all-time high. Though climate change is anthropogenic, violence rising out of disasters is mostly man-made. Bangladesh is a low-lying coastal region and therefore it is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. And climate change implies horrific, unrelenting violence----before, during and after disasters. This violence is layered and slow that occurs gradually across time and space. (Slow violence and layered disasters: Gender-based violence before, during and after cyclones, Nahid Rezwana and Rachel Pain, https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/266528/4C30BA46-B75E-4E78-960A-289AB612BB13.pdf)

Apart from floods and tidal surges, cyclones rage through the country and spell cataclysm, especially for its women who are home-bound and most of the time busy catering and caring for their family members. The inter-generational cycle of violence is a vicious cycle that is exacerbated during disasters like cyclones due to culturally and socially limited roles of women in the patriarchal society of the country, limited access to financial resources, poverty, lack of education and restricted role in decision-making processes. Not only that, clamping down on women’s rights and freedom is alarming here for instance, their mobility and their lack of agency on what clothes they would wear.

This article examines how gender-based violence is specifically horrific for women of Bangladesh who find their fates sealed when cyclones strike as men are impervious to positive changes in the lives of women facing gender discrimination, early and forced marriages, wife beating, sexual threats and abuse. The repercussions of such catastrophes are unpaid care work that rises during crises, food insecurity, physical, verbal and sexual abuse from husbands accompanied by constant fear, panic, trauma, despondency and apprehensions confronted in shelters as well as homes that are unsafe and unhygienic. The perils of job loss and instability incline men to become more violent and abusive toward their partners.

Defining GBV and its relation to cyclones

GBV (gender-based violence) is defined as “an umbrella term for any harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will and that is based on socially ascribed i.e., gender differences between males and females.” (“Slow violence and layered disasters: Gender-based violence before, during and after cyclones, Nahid Rezwana and Rachel Pain. Source—https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/266528/4C30BA46-B75E-4E78-960A-289AB612BB13.pdf)

It includes any act that ‘results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life’ (WHO, 2016). The all-pervasive prevalence of GBV is accentuated in countries where women are at disaster risk and Bangladesh is one such disaster-prone country in South Asia where women face ‘more marginalization and oppression than their male counterparts.’ Cyclone disasters have a long history in Bangladesh with severe instances in 1935, 1965, 1970, 2007, 2013. 2016 and recently during Amphan and Covid-19.

Sexual assault during cyclones

Women encountered sexual attacks and aggression while fighting it out on the ground. One survivor described her experience in Cyclone Roanu in 2016:

‘One man pulled my sari…I was going to the cyclone shelter…. I was alone…. I was so afraid…. then some passerby came closer to us. He could not do anything more.’ (Slow violence and layered disasters: Gender-based violence before, during and after cyclones, Nahid Rezwana and Rachel Pain, https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/266528/4C30BA46-B75E-4E78-960A-289AB612BB13.pdf)

The ordeal of the women does not end here. They face insurmountable misery in cyclone shelters. Strangers as well as acquaintances are always on the prowl in overcrowded shelters with insufficient amenities. At times, men touch women improperly and intentionally. There is a scarcity of food, water, proper sanitation and electricity. To top it all, there is double jeopardy and anxiety of getting abused.  

Another woman reflects, ‘I went to the cyclone shelter with my elder daughter…. there were many people, they were shouting, pushing each other, crying, screaming and suddenly someone pulled my blouse and tore it…I was worried about my daughter…. how can I save her? Now where should I go? Violence is everywhere.’ (Slow violence and layered disasters: Gender-based violence before, during and after cyclones, Nahid Rezwana and Rachel Pain, https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/266528/4C30BA46-B75E-4E78-960A-289AB612BB13.pdf)

Besides direct sexual assault, eve-teasing is also common. It has drastic consequences. Sexual harassment during disasters can lead to the breaking of marriages and abandonment by husbands. One respondent describes, ‘Shelter is not safe for us. Young men come from 7/8 villages. They eve-tease girls and young women. They try to touch or molest them. I feel frightened to stay in the shelters. I stay at my house rather than taking my teenage daughter to the shelters. ‘Understanding Gender-based Violence during disasters in the coastal region of Bangladesh. Final report, December 2017. https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/245488/335BA666-71D1-4A9E-BCCE-674B1362F2F0.pdf)All these incidents lead to hesitancy on the part of women to seek help during cyclones and rescue operations. They fear physical advances, unwanted touch and verbal abuse apart from physical beatings.

Wife beating

Wife battering is universal in Bangladesh in almost all homes. However, this increases manifold during and after cyclones. Resources get seriously compromised during this time. There is a breakdown of social and familial infrastructure and livelihood patterns and violence increases with economic stress and anxiety. This ultimately leads to wife beating as men do not have to work the whole day, they give in to alcoholism and take out their anger on women. One woman responded by saying that her fisherman husband lost everything after cyclone Sidr and became violent and started torturing her. The helplessness is evident in her following words—

‘…. My husband lost his fishing nets and other tools during Cyclone Sidr…. he became violent. He started beating me…. I touched his feet and requested him to forgive and love me for the sake of our children. He never listens. He always says, ‘get out of my house’. However, where should I go now?’ (Understanding Gender-based Violence during disasters in the coastal region of Bangladesh. Final report, December 2017. https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/245488/335BA666-71D1-4A9E-BCCE-674B1362F2F0.pdf.Torture for dowry increases in penniless families.

Early, forced and ransom marriages

In families which decided to marry off their daughters when a cyclone struck, they did so as they felt burdened. With marriage, they have to feed one mouth less. Sometimes, marriage is a means to compensate for the loss of money. Young girls whose families are caught in debt traps release themselves by marrying off daughters forcibly to moneylenders. Rapes during cyclones are common but fear of shame and loss of honour leads women to keep quiet.

Gender-based violence in cyclones in Bangladesh is rampant because violence breeds vulnerability. While women are associated with weakness and lack of agency and economic empowerment, masculinity is associated with power, assertiveness, and aggressiveness. There are gender-based restraints in all aspects of Bangladeshi society where men have exclusive control over women, and this often happens in a subtle way. The dominance of men in their lives undermines the capacity of women to harness their creativity even in normal times. And during disasters, their prioritization is family as in non-disaster times. Their autonomy is undermined and survival is at stake. 

Women need to be co-opted for active participation in disaster relief distribution and planning for early warning signs.

 (The writer is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Jangipur College, Kalyani University, West Bengal. Views are personal. She can be reached at koyelbasu1979@gmail.com.)