Four Times As Many Women Died in Tsunami

Up to four times as many women as men died in the Boxing Day Asian tsunami, according to a report published today by Oxfam International.

In four villages surveyed by the aid agency in the badly hit district of North Aceh in Indonesia, an average of 77% of the fatalities were women. In the worst affected village, Kuala Cangkoy, the proportion rose to 80%.

Data collected from Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India produced a figure of 73% female fatalities. In Sri Lanka, information was hard to confirm but anecdotal evidence suggested about two thirds of those who died were women.

The reasons vary, but among the common factors is that many men were out fishing or away from home, so had more opportunity to flee the tsunami. In general, men could run faster to escape the water and those caught in the sea used their greater strength to survive by clinging on to debris.

In Aceh, the Indonesian province that bore the brunt of the disaster, many men have moved away from the province, which is beset by a separatist insurgency, to find work. Women, in contrast, were at home, and efforts to save their children slowed their flight.

In Indian coastal communities, women traditionally wait on the beaches to unload the fish from the boats.

In Sri Lanka, researchers found few women could swim or climb trees.

As communities today mark the three-month anniversary of the tsunami, Oxfam's report warns of significant social disruption and exploitation of the women who remain in the affected communities.

"The threat is that due to the shortage of women, they are going to have to marry younger and younger," said Ines Smith, an Oxfam gender adviser, who did much of the research in Aceh. "This means loss of education, pregnancy at a younger age and more pregnancies."

Men and women are finding the gender imbalance a problem, Oxfam says. Men who have lost their wives are struggling to rebuild a domestic life, while unmarried men are worried about how they will find a wife. "They don't know how to fill the voids," Ms Smith said.

Women survivors are having to plug gaps left by women who have died, and at the same time are not allowed to step into roles previously played by men, according to Aditi Kapoor, an Oxfam researcher in India.

"Societies have assumed, for example, women don't need a boat if there's no man around," she said. "But women want boats. They can rent them out and make an income that way."

Many young women are taking up caring roles. Baghyalaxmi, a teenager from Cuddalore, is a typical example.

"One of my younger brothers has a mental handicap and is totally dependent on us now. If amma [mother] was around, there would have been no problem. Nor would I have had to stop my school to look after him. I cannot afford to miss classes, but my family is more important."