Suchergebnisse

In April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the Gorkha district of Nepal. This was followed in May by a second earthquake. Nepal experienced another natural disaster in 2017. Floods affected large swathes of the country from east to west. Using both qualitative and quantitative data, this article examines the impact of these climate disasters on violence against women. In doing so, it adds to a small but growing and fundamentally important body of literature that explores the intersections of gendered violence and natural disaster. It is well-established that 35% of women worldwide have experienced physical and/or sexual violence. What we know much less about is how other events impact on these figures. Given the growing intensity of climate change and the reality that adverse impacts are here to stay, understanding the detrimental legacy of natural disasters is now more urgent than ever.

Informed by the theory of women's political representation, the present paper employs a thematic meta-synthesis method to investigate whether or not women political inclusion in political institutions furthers gender equality in Rwandan society. The main findings suggest that Rwanda has achieved high political representation of women, which may increase power for some women by allowing them to have a greater voice in society and access to education. However, numerous women do not ensure gender equality in all spheres of life as they continue to suffer excessively from politico-ethnic exclusion, unemployment, poverty, heavy domestic responsibilities, gender-based violence, and lack of access to health care services. Legal changes and policies designed to promote gender equality are unquestionably worsening. Although an underlying economic rationale remains leading, gender policies and strategies are implemented with attention to quantitative results rather than qualitative outcomes. Our findings suggest that the current statistics on the gender gap do not express the real situation of Rwandan women. Besides, these findings yield a theory that high women's political participation may not translate into gender equality. Future research should aim to explore possible solutions to the identified problems.