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25 February 2002 By Hanna Schmuck, in Cox's Bazar "The project has changed a lot for us women," explains 50 year-old Aria Begum from the village of Harun Matbar Para. "Before, we only thought about saving ourselves. In the 1991 cyclone we just left our houses and ran. It was very risky as the sea water could rise quickly and just wash us away. Now things are different. We know what the different warning signals from the radio mean and which steps we should take not only to save our lives, but also our belongings." Aria is a mother of four and a member of the local "Village Disaster Preparedness Committee" which has been formed with the support of the German Red Cross' "Community Based Disaster Preparedness Programme" (CBDPP) in Cox's Bazar District. The district is possibly the most cyclone-prone area in the Bay of Bengal, infamous for the destructive cyclones that can cause havoc there between the months of May and December. The programme is being implemented by the Bangladesh Red Crescent together with communities living around 30 cyclone shelters dotted along the most vulnerable points of the coastline. The shelters were constructed between 1986 and 1994 by various Red Cross societies and the KfW/German Bank for Reconstruction. After a devastating cyclone in 1991 which left almost 140,000 people dead, a study carried out by the Red Crescent and other organisations, revealed that 90% of the victims were women and children. Worryingly, despite the existence of some cyclone shelters, the communities living around them were not aware of their purpose or didn't feel it was safe to take refuge in them. The response was the CBDPP which got underway in 1996 with the objective of strengthening and improving the self-help capacity of at-risk communities. To ensure the active participation in the programme of all sectors of the community, gender specific micro groups have been formed, each with between 15 and 25 members. Every group elects a representative to be a member of the "Village Disaster Preparedness Committee" (VDPC), which is responsible for the use and maintenance of the cyclone shelters. The committee also conducts a range of disaster preparedness activities before, during and after the cyclone season. Each shelter also has a committee of 21 members, 11 male and 10 female. But the intent to involve women more meets with social and cultural challenges. Traditional customs often require women to get married early and they are largely restricted to the home and cannot therefore not attend monthly meetings. Female literacy rates are very low leading to further marginalisation, causing many women to be reluctant to play a wider a role in society. Nevertheless, the CBDPP tries to reduce the impact of cyclones on women and children and to empower them in their every day lives by paying special attention to them through group training sessions on disaster preparedness, leadership, reproductive health, nursery management techniques as well as small scale entrepreneurship such as chicken breeding. But the programme also targets men by holding awareness sessions on gender equality during committee meetings. For Aria Begum and other women, the programme has taught practical skills as well as knowledge. " We know how to save our food and belongings by digging holes and keeping them in the plastic containers provided by the project. We also learned which kind of food to prepare and to take to the cyclone shelter - and we know that the shelter is there to save our lives," she says. Asked why women should be trained at all, her response is swift. "Men are often not at home, because they work in the fields, go to the market or visit relatives in other villages and towns." Saving the children and the home is then women's business. According to 40 year-old Shoba Ranishli from the Magnama shelter community, preparation for a cyclone at household level is women's responsibility. "Men tell us what should be done in the home without taking any action themselves. But women just do it. We are more practical. Am I not correct?" she asks assertively. Being members of the micro groups and the Village Disaster Preparedness Committees also provides women with a social opportunity to meet other women and exchange experiences and problems. Related links More news and reports on Federation operations in Bangladesh Bangladesh annual appeal |
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