Sreya Sen - Doctoral Fellow, Department of
South and Southeast Asian Studies
University of Calcutta, India. This paper was
presented at a workshop on Gender, Development, Resistance at the University of
Lapland, Finland in June 2015.
Recurrent river
erosion on the banks of south western Bangladesh, such as in Khulna since early
2000. has led to massive displacement of the local population. Simultaneously,
the slow but steady erosion of the Ganges River in the district of Malda in West
Bengal, India has caused the people residing in these areas to lose their
homes. This article draws upon archival sources of data, namely national and
state government reports on policy and planning, district human development
reports, reports generated by non-governmental organizations (local and International)
working in the river erosion affected areas of Malda and Khulna and clippings
from national and sub national dailies, to examine the impact of river erosion
induced displacement on the lives of women residing here. It also attempts to
see the ways in which these women have emerged as forces of resistance to the
phenomenon of displacement instead of being mere victims of the process.
The problem of
displacement caused by river erosion became extremely acute in the early years
of the 21st century owing to the advent of development projects,
prompting state authorities in both areas to take note of the severity of the
problem. The construction of the Farakka Barrage in West Bengal for instance,
has aggravated saline intrusion in both Khulna and Malda, leading to a rise in
river erosion. The early part of the new millennium was also a time when International
and domestic provisions for the protection of the IDP’s were widened in both
India and Bangladesh in addition to the fundamental rights available for the
protection of such persons in both countries. This was when Bangladesh became a
signatory of the United Nations Convention of Human Rights (UNHCR) and thus
bound to abide by their mandate. It became a member of the UNHCR in 2002, and
consequently became bound to abide by its mandate as well as to take on board
the Guiding Principles relating to IDP’s. In India, the National Resettlement
and Rehabilitation Policy whose draft was prepared in 1998 by
the then Ministry of Rural Development, became an official policy in 2007.
Additionally, India being a member of the EXCOM of the UNHCR was also bound by
its mandate to look into the well being of IDP’s in the country.
Assessing
the Impact of Displacement on the Lives of Women
The
Case of Khulna, Bangladesh
The lives of
women displaced by river erosion in Khulna are at serious risk owing to the
absence of community and national support. Displaced women are particularly
marginalized because of restricted mobility and limited working opportunities. Women
are mostly employed in the informal sector such as labour in the shrimp
industry, daily labour, as domestic help, hawkers, vegetable vending and small
business. Unhygienic sanitation and water conditions in the resettlement areas
often result in the spread of vector and waterborne diseases such as dengue and
diarrhea all of which affect the health of the women severely. Due to the lack
of finance for medical care facilities, women have little or no access to medical
services. With regard to financial assets, one finds a reduction in the
household income generating activities for women because of the absence of space
as well as opportunity. Public loans characterized by a high rate of interest
make the women IDPs economically vulnerable.[i]
Left
organizations such as the Communist Party of Bangladesh and local non-
governmental organizations like Prodipon, Sushilan and Nijera Kori have
mobilized displaced women and men and given them the opportunity to speak out a[k1] gainst
their situation. Women members of Sushilan would often occupy land owned by
state authorities in order to build structures for the most needy of women in
their group. Law and order authorities have sometimes had to comply with their
demands as a consequence of their solidarity. Landless women in the erosion
afflicted areas are also found to be taking part in protest marches often with
their dependent children by their side.[ii]
The
Case of Malda, West Bengal
Women are
usually the first to be impacted by displacement due to river erosion in Malda.
Displaced women are compelled to provide financial support for their families
in addition to dealing with domestic hardships. Common occupations among the
displaced women include labour in the tobacco industry and couriers in the
smuggling nexus.[iii]
The greatest problem faced by women IDPs is in the area of health and
sanitation. Most of them occupy land which belongs to others and have no access
to toilet facilities. Access to clean and safe drinking water is also a problem
in districts that are arsenic prone. The vulnerability of displaced women is
also determined by the religious category to which they belong. [iv] Displaced
women among the Muslim community, especially widows receive help from financial
practices such as Asul, Zakat and Fetura. Through such charities, the displaced
Muslim women are able to sustain themselves and consequently the tendency among
them to migrate is a lot less.[v]
People displaced
and devastated by river erosion in Malda have formed organizations to look into
their welfare; a notable example being the Ganga Bhangon Pratirodh Nagarik
Action Committee. Women participate very actively in this organization although
their numbers are few. Self help groups for women exist in many parts of the
areas that are affected by river erosion. Support provided by the self help
groups is not restricted to finance only. Familial and social support is also
provided. The displaced women are also greatly interested in educating their
young ones. Several of them are eager to educate their daughters, an
opportunity which most of them have missed out on. Women IDPs in Malda have
indicated their preference for their daughters to go to school and be
recipients of mid-day meal schemes rather than sit idle at home all through the
day even though studies are often affected due to the severity of river
erosion. [vi]
Conclusion
It is
recommended that state authorities in the districts take on a gender sensitive
approach towards rehabilitating the displaced in order to assist the
empowerment of these resilient women. A considerable number of public and
private organizations, in addition to state policies that cater to the welfare
and agency of displaced women, also need to emerge in order for women to voice
their demands and issues in an articulate and consistent fashion and receive
the assistance that they rightfully deserve.
[i]
Report of the Association for Development Activity of Manifold Social Work,
“Impact of Climate Change Displacement on women’s livelihoods in the urban
slums of Bangladesh, 2014
[ii]
Guhathakurata Meghna, The Gendered Nature of Migration in South Western
Bangladesh: Lessons for a Climate Change Policy”. 2011
[iii]
Mukherjee Jenia, “No Voice, No Choice: Riverine Changes and Human Vulnerability
in the “Chars” of Malda and Murshidabad” in Occasional Paper 28, Institute of
Development Studies, July 2011
[iv] O
Niel Brian, “Women and Displacement: A Case Study of Women Displaced by Ganga
Erosion in Malda District of West Bengal in India.”
[v]
Dutta Priyanka, “Migration as Source of Risk Aversion among the Environmental
Refugees”
[vi]
Bandopadhyay Krishna, Ghosh Soma and Nilanjan Dutta, “Eroded Lives”, Calcutta
Research Group, 2006 pp 18-19
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