Why girls are 14 times more likely to die in a natural disaster
A Plan International report analyzes discrimination against girls in times of flood, hurricane, earthquake and drought — their vulnerability to rape, prostitution and child marriage.
By: Jennifer Yang Global health reporter
October 10, 2013 (Global Health) — In 1991, as Bangladesh was being battered by one of the deadliest tropical cyclones ever recorded, a desperate father clung to his two children: his son under one arm, his daughter under the other.
Surveys in Ethiopia also found that boys were encouraged to eat more in times of food scarcity, the assumption being that boys need more energy whereas girls are “expected to be moderate/reserved reflecting a ‘womanly etiquette.’ ”
But the tidal waves were too powerful and the father realized he could no longer hold onto both. He had to make a choice: he let his daughter go.
“This son,” he later told researchers, “has to carry on the family line.”
This story is recounted in a new report by Plan International that examines discrimination against girls in times of flood, hurricane, earthquake and drought.
The report, titled “In Double Jeopardy: Adolescent Girls and Disasters,” found that not only are girls less likely to be rescued than their brothers, they are also fed less food, less likely to return to school and more vulnerable to rape, prostitution and child marriage.
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Posted by admin - 10/10/2013 at 8:10 am