Women’s Role in Mitigation and Disaster Management

Abstract

The impact of climate change caused by global warming is currently one of the trending topics in various media and it is an extremely serious threat to human security. Forest fires, floods, landslides and changes in lifestyles to survive natural disasters are the very significant contributing factors to poverty rates in various parts of the world. The London School of Economics and Political Science conducted a study of 141 countries affected by disasters in the 1981-2002 period and found a close link between natural disasters and women's socioeconomic status. Data from the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) states that women have 14 times of risk for becoming victims of disasters compared to adult men. Women become the most victimized because women prioritize children and their families rather than saving themselves. Although women bear more risks to climate change, women can also have the principal opportunity and role in implementing climate change mitigation adaptation, namely by making women actors in disaster mitigation and drivers of change in parallel to their strong responsibilities to their families. By providing adequate knowledge for women about adaptation and mitigation of disasters, the women can turn themselves to be the strategic activists in coping with disasters for communities living in disaster-prone areas.

This study is a comparative discussion of three research results to obtain an overview and find solutions to women's problems from the consequences of climate change, which is a study by changing women from being the most victims of natural disasters to becoming the driving actor for families and communities in overcoming disaster and her ability to survive the post-disaster situation. The conclusion is the three levels of gender roles related to climate change to increase women's adaptive capacity. An adaptation strategy needs the form of 1. Increasing the role of women in the political arena. It is a crucial issue because women's rights can be protected by their presence and role, as well as women in guarding policies. 2. Increasing the role of women in the realm of education. Education is no less important than politics because education will provide a foundation for understanding and self-confidence, bargaining and personal branding for women so that their presence in society will be recognized and will no longer be discriminated. 3. Cultural reconstruction based on gender equality is very important because so far, the notion of patriarchy is still inherent in our culture. Many perspectives are cooptated on the statement that superior (men) are stronger then give rise women mythos that is said to be weak (women). In reality, the presence of women is still fundamental to the aspect of maintaining the economy and education for the continuation and the quality of the life in the society.