VULNERABILITY IN WOMEN IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Displacement Increases the Vulnerability in Women in Developing Countries

Abstract

Development-induced displacement in the country has brought severe economic, social and environmental problems to the displaced people. Magnitude of people displaced and severity of the problems due to multipurpose dam projects is too high as compared to other projects in the country. They also lead to submergence of high quality of land, destruction of the watershed, disturb the delicate ecological balance and distort the surrounding environment, loss of wildlife and precious irreplaceable flora, etc. and most notorious problems of flooding, water-logging and salinity. The experience of post-Independence period from projects across the country suggests that the long drawn out process of displacement has caused widespread traumatic psychological and socio-cultural consequences. These include the dismantling of traditional production systems, desecration of ancestral sacred zones, graves and places of worship, scattering of kinship groups, disruptions of family system and informal social network (Kothari, 1995). Michael M. Cernea (1997) has developed the risk and reconstruction model, which has already been tested to be applicable to the developmentinduced displacement situation in the country. The model is built around a core concept: the risks of impoverishment. The eight-impoverishment risks are landlessness, joblessness, homelessness, marginalisation, food insecurity, increased morbidity and mortality, loss of access to common property and social disarticulation. This paper provides an overview of the land tenure situation in Ghana. It focuses on the rural poor in terms of their access to natural resources, their vulnerability to major threats and the causes of their tenure insecurity. It also suggests approaches to securing property rights as a means for improving their livelihoods. The paper, commissioned as part of the FAO-Norway Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) Project on Land Tenure and Development Law that supports the realization of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in developing countries, is presented

Table of Content

CHAPTER ONE5

INTRODUCTION5

A Case Study24

Findings of the Case Study26

CHAPTER TWO29

LITERATURE REVIEW29

CHAPTER THREE36

METHODOLOGY36

Literature Selection Criteria36

Search Technique36

REFERENCES37

Chapter One

Introduction

For understanding the issues of displacement, development and resettlement and rehabilitation in India holistically, there is a need of reference to the policies and programmes of multilateral and bilateral agencies, particularly the World Bank, ADB, DFID and UNDP from gender perspective. It is needless to note here that the World Bank has been the single largest international donor for development initiatives in India. The Bank's policy on R&R continues to remain gender blind.

According to Reider Kvam, from the World Bank, in the past the Bank's R & R policies have failed to adequately address resettlement and gender concerns, but efforts are being made by the Bank to learn from the past by introducing social planning and assessments. He made reference to the Bank's support in the Singrauli region since the 1970s. He remarked the unequal development in the Singrauli region because of disparities between affluent workers of large corporations and poor and displaced people living in the surrounding areas.

Due to inadequate social planning, high social tension ensured, women were very negatively impacted and the risk of displacement ...