Presented at the Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century; 5-7 June, 2011, Oslo, Norway
Introduction
Extreme, sudden-onset weather events - primarily floods and storms - displaced more than
38 million people worldwide in 2010. The devastating floods in Pakistan, caused by
unusually heavy monsoon rains in July and August, accounted for 11 million. The rains
brought flooding to as much as a fifth of Pakistan’s national territory, which affected more
than 10 per cent of the country's population of 181 million. Fifty per cent of those affected
were women. Some 1,700 people died, and the floodwaters caused huge losses of property,
infrastructure and livelihoods. The southern province of Sindh suffered worst, with more
than seven million people affected and 1.5 million made homeless.
The 2010 floods caused the largest displacements in Pakistan's history. The scale, scope and speed of events posed an enormous challenge for the affected populations, government authorities and the international community in a country where natural hazards have provoked a series of major disasters in recent years. An earthquake killed some 73,000 people, injured around 200,000, and displaced 3.5 million in Assad Kashmir and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in October 2005, and floods in Balochistan displaced another 300,000 in June and July 2007.
Internally displaced people (IDPs) have an equal right to protection and assistance during their displacement and in their search for durable solutions whether they are women or men, and wherever they may be displaced to. Women tend to face particular challenges and discrimination in their gender-defined roles before, during and after displacement. They are not, however, a homogenous group. As this paper sets out, an effective response to displacement and its impacts must be informed by an understanding of Pakistan's varying contexts and the effects of disasters on different groups of women with specific needs in their aftermath.
This paper is based on an IDMC study conducted eight to nine months after the onset of the 2010 floods, in April and May 2011. It involved interviews with local authorities and international agencies working in Pakistan, discussion groups with women and men from Kambar Shahdadkot district in Sindh province, and a review of some 50 assessments and reports. It presents an overview of the context prior to the 2010 floods, highlights the impacts of displacement on women and makes recommendations to strengthen policy and responses to disaster-induced displacement.