Expert advocates for Gender friendly Policy for women
The head, Gender and Vulnerable Group Care Unit of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs Asmau Benzies Leo has said that the new policy on Gender and Disaster management will empower more women to participate in leadership, management and decision making positions in disaster risk reduction.
In a close chat on the subject, the gender expert also said that the policy was timely and meant to give women a sense of belonging in crisis management because they are the most affected in every disaster case. Excerpts:
What is the objective of the Gender and Vulnerable unit as it concerns emergency management?
The Gender and vulnerable unit of the National Emergency Management Agency is a very effective unit that contribute to strengthen the effort of the agency in addressing the plight of women and children whom in most instances are the worst hit victims of crisis. It is important also to stress that gender equality in disaster reduction requires, above all, empowering women to have an increasing role in leadership, management and decision-making positions.
Natural disasters, particularly erosion and other forms of soil degradation, pollution of freshwaters, flooding, drought and desertification, impact directly on women in their roles as providers of food, water and fuel. Food security and family well-being are threatened when the resource base on which women rely to carry out their critical roles and obtain supplementary incomes is under-mined.
Effective risk assessment and management require the active involvement of local communities and civil society groups to ensure decreased occurrence of disasters and reduced losses and costs when they do occur. The knowledge, contributions and potentials of both women and men need to be identified and utilized. This, of course is the reason we are doing everything possible to ensuring that the vulnerable ones are given the necessary support to enable them get off the shocks and get back to life without much devastation.
Beside the relief effort of providing food, medicals and materials, we also take care of the psychological need of the people. NEMA have been working with other stakeholders and international donor agencies to train some of the IDPs especially women and youth on skills acquisition. We have trained women to develop their skills in catering, beads making, ICT, hair dressing and tailoring. This is meant to give them a means of livelihood.
What would be the role of women in the gender based policy which you are promoting?
There is no doubt the fact that cultural barrier and impediment have exacerbated the situation of risk and disaster making the women more vulnerable than their counterpart. But Effective management of natural resources and effective policies to reduce risks or respond to natural disasters require a clear understanding of gender-based differences and inequalities. Lack of such understanding can lead to the perpetuation or reinforcement of such gender-based inequalities and other dimensions of social vulnerability in the provision of emergency relief and in long-term reconstruction processes.
Women tend to be over-represented in highly vulnerable social groups, whose ability to prepare for, survive and cope with disasters is severely limited. For example in Nigeria, rural the men usually travel in search of in the cities while the women remain behind. Gender-based inequalities and disadvantages are often compounded by factors such as race, class, ethnicity or age, which lead to great differences in women’s experiences in disasters.
While gender roles vary culturally and historically, they often create risky living conditions for women both in “normal” and extreme periods. Women who are poor or economically insecure are less resilient to disasters. Earning an income and providing for their families puts women on the front lines of hazardous work on a daily basis.
Other factors, such as elevated levels of malnutrition and chronic illness, low levels of schooling and literacy, lack of information and training, inadequate transportation, and cultural limitations on mobility, have also reduced women’s resilience to disaster. Caring for others takes many women’s lives when sudden choices must be made about self-preservation or rescue of children and others. Because their lives are so often confined to the home, girls and women are correspondingly more exposed than men to death and injury in most emergency issues.
Then, we also have to look at issues risk of domestic and sexual violence, and barriers to full participation in decision-making and public policy are other factors that can increase women’s vulnerability to natural disasters, and reduce their ability to prepare for, survive and recover from devastating conflicts or fires robbing them of livelihood, health, security and community.
The activities of NEMA is said to be skewed one sided as some displaced persons especially in the Bakasi who are made up of mostly women and children have cried of abandonment by the Federal Government, what is the gender unit doing to carry these people along?
I think I would disagree with you on this issue of lopsided approach. Our core mandate is to response to emergency and we have been doing that very effectively and the most of the victims can attest to that, the Director General Sani Sidi has always take prompt action whenever there is any reported case that demands NEMA attention. We have responded to emergency crisis in the north east and the South South. In fact in all the six geopolitical zones of the country and Nigerians can bear us witness like the recent attack at Nimbo in Enugu state NEMA responded promptly with various foods and relief materials. Every part of Nigeria supposed to benefit and have been benefiting whenever there is emergency incidents. It is a great injustice to say that NEMA is lopsided. We have two offices in each zone of the federation and we are proposing establishment of office in each of the 36 states of the federation. Also, it is important to reiterate that we are restricted to emergency relief and humanitarian issues. We have the National Centre for Women Development that should deal with issues affecting women. However, I feel the pains of these women and I share in their pains and trauma. They should bear in mind that they are not alone; we would do everything within our reach to support them.
Recently the agency holds a stakeholder workshop to fashion out policy on gender and disaster risk management, do you see this policy being effective?
The conference was aimed at developing a gender sensitive disaster policy framework in Nigeria. And as the DG said during the conference, ‘Strong evidence from good practices of gender- sensitive Disaster Risk Management worldwide shows that both men and women benefit from a gender balanced approach to Disaster Risk Management, men and women meaning in practical terms, everyone, and by implication, families, communities, societies and nations.’ However, the women and children are top in our agenda and quest for friendly and balanced policy framework that will give this underprivileged group the opportunity to excel and compete favourably in disaster risk management.
This policy is not going to be like other policies, we are going to take our time to look at the policy. All the concerned persons were adequately represented at the stakeholder conference; opinion leaders, women, deaf and dumb, the disabled persons and other group leaders were there. You can see how varied the stakeholder was because we want their views and opinions to count. The report will soon be out and will set the pace.
