WOMEN’S AGILITY IN COPING WITH CYCLONE AND CYCLONE-INDUCED HAZARDS: A CASE STUDY ON FEMALE-HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN COASTAL BANGLADESH

Women's coping capacity and adaptation practices lead to transformed social roles and responsibilities, making them essential for building resilience against cyclones and cyclone-induced hazards. This study aimed to investigate the evolution and agility of women's coping mechanisms, adaptive capacities, and available resources in response to cyclones and cyclone-induced hazards. A mixed-method approach, comprising questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews, was adopted to collect data from women in female-headed households in Gabura Union, a coastal area of Bangladesh. The findings reveal these women's impressive and transformative adaptation capacity. Their local knowledge, skills, and resilience have helped their families cope with recurrent and intensified cyclone events. In the absence of husbands, female heads have taken on work outside the home, migrated for jobs, and performed full household responsibilities. They make decisions, maintain connections with communities and organizations, and gain self-empowerment through knowledge of the outside world. Consequently, their adaptive capacity in the face of cyclones and related hazards has increased. The results also indicate that response and adaptation transformations depend on the female heads' socio-economic condition. These findings are valuable for developing a sustainable and inclusive cyclone-resilient plan for women.