Impacts of Climate Change Induced Migration on Gender: A Qualitative Study from the Southwest Coastal Region of Bangladesh

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the gender variation of the impact of climate change induced migration. This paper highlights the gender dimensions of climate change induced migration where gender is a vital element for determining vulnerability to climate change which influences the subsequent migration. Actually, the impacts of climate change induced natural disasters are not gender neutral because the experiences, needs and priorities of the climate migrants are varied by gender roles and position. In this research, we explore the socioeconomic impacts of the climate migrants on gender from the evidence of the southwest coastal women and men of Bangladesh. The qualitative data were collected from the cyclone-affected migrants who were migrated internally from the disaster-prone southwest coastal region and lived in the city slums of Khulna in Bangladesh. This study is described the gender differentiation between women and men in case of climate change induced migration according to social, economical, ecological, organizational, occupational, educational and physical aspects which tend to be highly gendered. The study results show that among climate migrants, women are more vulnerable than men due to their socioeconomic condition and gender discrimination in the patriarchal society of Bangladesh who are likely to be poorer, less educated, have a lower social status and have limited access to and control over natural resources.