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Women and children make 60 -70% of the population. These women and children are the ones who spend most of their time inside the house and help their families in agriculture production, livestock grazing, and sometimes in activities related to home-based businesses and the promotion of tourism. At the same time, these women and children are the ones who suffer the most in these mountainous and climate-vulnerable areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. There are many reasons contributing to it but the foremost is lack of education and awareness among women and children on safety and immediate actions to take in an emergency.
The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Pakistan is addressing this issue through its community-centric approach of community-based disaster risk management, in which community participation and involvement of 50 % women in committees and disaster response forces whom we call the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is ensured across all villages and areas of Pakistan. Through a specially designed program, women and children are given the education and skills to provide first aid in emergencies, identify safe heavens within the house and village to evacuate in case of a disaster, use available resources at home to rescue individuals.
With the help of funding from the National Disaster Management Fund, 89 capacity-building sessions were conducted for CERT teams across Gilgit- Baltistan in which 1096 women benefited, almost equal to men and have learned the skills of emergency response including mountain and building climbing, water rescue and fire fighting. An important thing to quote over here is as this number includes 08 differentiable women/young girls as well.
Sharing experiences of the training session for Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) in Talis Baltistan, Ms. Maryum (35), a young mother of two kids says that
“ The awareness and skill building session has provided her with the important knowledge of developing village-based disaster risk management plan, identifying safe heaven and reducing the impacts of disasters. These training sessions for women to manage and response disasters has made them learn to stay safe and help others in the time of need. This in returns not only reduces the rates of death or loss but it makes women more confident and resilient to face disasters.”
— Ms. Maryam
“The awareness and skill-building session has provided her with the important knowledge of developing village-based disaster risk management plan, identifying safe heaven and reducing the impacts of disasters. These training sessions for women to manage and response disasters has made them learn to stay safe and help others in the time of need. This in return not only reduces the rates of death or loss but it makes women more confident and resilient to face disasters”. She further shared her feelings and experience of the 2010 floods in her village, when the floods have reached her home and she along her two of kids were busy collecting important home items rather evacuate to a safer place for their own safety to life. Because they were unaware of the importance of timely evacuation earlier. Through current ongoing sessions on disaster management, Maryum now feels thankful, for learning things around emergency evacuation, first aid and helping others”.
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