Rebuilding Nepal: Women’s Roles in Political Transition and Disaster Recovery
Communities experiencing or emerging from conflict are often also affected by natural disasters, creating intersecting challenges and sometimes threatening further instability. The effects of climate change include more frequent and possibly more severe natural disasters, which means that post-conflict and post-disaster recovery processes will be increasingly intertwined. To understand how fragile communities respond to and address the challenges posed by natural disasters, it is crucial to understand the key roles that women play. Nepal provides a case study of women’s roles in post-conflict reconstruction and disaster recovery.
Since the resolution of Nepal’s ten-year civil war in 2006, the state has attempted to implement a political transition and reshape political institutions. Yet, more than a decade later, many communities still need resources to support the post-conflict recovery and create accountability for the violence experienced during the war. In 2015, Nepal experienced a devastating earthquake, leaving communities even more vulnerable and creating challenges for the ongoing political transition.
Women and women’s civil society organizations (CSOs) played key roles in Nepal’s post-conflict and post-disaster reconstruction processes, both in addressing women’s specific needs and in bolstering the overall recovery of the country. Women’s CSOs used advocacy, including demonstrations, to advance women’s rights during the political transition. After the 2015 earthquake, women provided direct aid, and they continue to make their voices heard in the post-conflict and post-disaster decision-making processes.
Three main findings emerge:
• Gender-based discrimination and legal barriers amplified the adverse impacts of the conflict and the earthquake for women, specifically by inhibiting their access to political, economic, and social rights; justice and reparations; and aid and recovery efforts.
• Women and women’s CSOs worked to meet the needs of marginalized communities, including women, following the conflict and the earthquake, helping to save lives, preserve communities, and rebuild livelihoods.
• Women’s CSOs advocated for long-term change and women’s rights by investing in capacity-building at the local and district levels and advocacy at the national level.
Addressing women’s needs and opening opportunities for women’s full participation in the wake of conflict and natural disaster is crucial for sustainable peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts. Women’s CSOs in Nepal emphasized the needs of women and other marginalized groups and pursued local and national responses in the wake of political and environmental instability. These efforts benefitted not only women, but entire communities. For example, women worked as first responders, providing services to communities that otherwise did not have access to them. These women helped to physically rebuild the nation and increase the pace of renewal. Driven by their experience of discrimination in accessing services which slowed the overall rate of recovery—women also advocated for policy and humanitarian changes that will ultimately help communities become stronger and more resilient. Advancing the rights of women in Nepal has helped ensure that they are able to be leaders in their communities and respond to the country’s post-conflict and post-disaster needs. The strategies deployed in the Nepali context also provide lessons for other states and communities facing similar challenges. As the case of Nepal demonstrates, addressing women’s needs and ensuring that their voices are heard facilitates long-term stability and peacebuilding.