Disaster And Gender Inequality Kills, Not Earthquakes
Disaster And Gender Inequality Kills, Not Earthquakes

Author(s): Özgür Kaymak
Subject(s): Gender Studies, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems, Social differentiation
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Disaster; gender; inequality; kills; earthquakes;
Summary/Abstract: After the February 6 earthquakes, thousands of people lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of buildings were destroyed and damaged, and millions of people were displaced. After the earthquakes, access to basic needs such as water, food and shelter could not be achieved for a long time as a result of inactivity in crisis management, inadequacy in search and rescue, and a chain of human and system errors. In the region affected by the earthquakes access to clean drinking water and epidemics continue to be problematic. Human rights violations accompanied the earthquakes, just as it has in previous natural disasters in Turkey as well as in different parts of the world. As long as disasters are defined as natural disasters that cannot be prevented like fate and their political aspects are not taken into account, the structural violence experienced by marginalized under risk groups in the country is aggravated. Human-induced trauma is the most severe form of trauma. In addition to the primary trauma caused by witnessing the disaster, the discrimination in the distribution of aid and access to shelter can cause a secondary trauma which can damage the collective ties and trust between the state and citizens. This situation can deepen the trauma by causing the survivors to feel worthless if they are constantly faced with discriminatory practices in the society.

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