Gendered Narratives: Viewing Disasters from a Cultural-Religious Lens

Authors

Keywords:

Gendered Narratives, Disaster, Normative Structures, Divine Wrath, (Im)morality

Abstract

Pakistan, as an environmentally vulnerable country, has experienced many natural catastrophes over the last two decades, resulting in significant human, socio-economic, infrastructural, and agricultural losses. These events have had diverse impacts on people based on class, gender, geography, and cultural diversity leading to varied perceptions influenced by their intersectionality. This study explores the prevailing cultural-religious interpretations regarding the causes of disasters within the local community of Upper Dir, one of the vulnerable districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Qualitative research methods were used to conduct interviews with the local community, ensuring gender balance among participants to capture their diverse views. The study’s major findings reveal that the causes of disasters are interpreted through religious and cultural narratives, attributing deviation from these normative structures as responsible for their occurrence. Notably, these narratives are gendered as women’s actions and their departure from traditional feminine traits and roles are considered the primary reasons for the divine retribution manifesting as disasters. Public awareness is considered crucial in communities dominated by cultural and religious perceptions in order to mitigate the impact of disasters. 

JEL Classification Codes: Q54

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Published

2025-01-16

How to Cite

Hassan, N., & Alam, A. (2025). Gendered Narratives: Viewing Disasters from a Cultural-Religious Lens. Journal of Development Policy Research & Practice (JoDPRP), 8(1). Retrieved from https://journals.sdpipk.org/index.php/JoDPRP/article/view/116

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