Women’s Participation in Natural Disasters and Accidents: A Case Study of Bam Earthquake, Iran

Background: Although natural disasters leave thousands of deaths and wounded, one of their most significant outcomes is empowering women as well as taking measures with special attention to women. This study aimed to analyze women’s cooperation and its affective factors in natural disasters and accidents. Materials and Methods: The study design is cross-sectional and descriptive. The study population comprised the women living in Bam, Iran and the sample size was calculated as 385. The study instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire. To analyze the data, the descriptive statistical methods, the statistical correlation test, and 1-way analysis of variance were performed by using SPSS 16. Results: The study result about the effects of the women demographic characteristics on their cooperation showed that there were no relationships between women’s cooperation and their marital status or degree of education. However, there were significant and positive relationships between their cooperation and variables of age, being indigenous, and occupational status. The results have also indicated that there were significant relationships between women’s cooperation and variables of knowledge and attitude. Conclusion: Women, despite their vulnerability in natural accidents, have the capability in performing different tasks such as taking care and accommodating the injured family members, and making peace and relief in difficult and undesirable situations after natural disasters such as earthquake. However, the results of this study revealed that women’s cooperation in different parts of crisis management was very limited. This matter demands more attention of the responsible authorities.