Gender Disparity in Drought-Prone Areas in Bangladesh

Abstract

The north-western part of Bangladesh has been experiencing extreme drought conditions compared to other parts of the country. Water crisis and drought environments cause eternal sufferings to the women who usually tackle all household activities. This paper aims at examining the prevailing gender disparity in a drought-prone region of Bangladesh by examining the daily activities, mobility pattern, water management, and job opportunity parameters. Questionnaire survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) Survey, Focus Group Discussion (FGD), and direct observation methods were applied to assess the drought impact on gender dimension in the study region. It is evident through the study that gender inequality prevails in the communities and the women are deprived in terms of social respect, recognition of work, wage, income opportunities, scope of socialization, leisure, and marginalization despite people do not aware of the issue.