Gender-sensitive adaptation policy-making in Bangladesh: status and ways forward for improved mainstreaming

Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change such as flooding, cyclones and drought. Women in Bangladesh are disproportionately affected by these impacts due to the nature of their livelihoods, their social obligations and confines, and their unique nutritional and health requirements, particularly during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Climate change policy in Bangladesh seeks to replicate adaptation policies under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This paper will briefly review the policy response to climate change in Bangladesh. As climate adaptation requires a multi-sectoral response, relevant policy concerned with climate, adaptation, poverty, gender and health will be studied. This assessment will determine whether gender issues related to adaptation are addressed in key policy pieces in Bangladesh. Key interventions related to climate change will also be assessed to determine whether gender is integrated in operational activity. Finally, the role of women in the development of adaptation policy will be assessed by outlining their participation in adaptation discourse. Findings indicate that gender-sensitive policies are quite limited. Policies may acknowledge the particular vulnerabilities of women, but operational planning to address these is absent. Whilst some operational responses superficially acknowledge vulnerability and may include women in planning processes, few address the unique impacts of climate change on women.