Solution Exchange special issue on International Day for Disaster Reduction

This special issue features a collection of inspiring stories of women and girl’s courage, resilience and triumph in extreme situations to mark the United Nation’s International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) 2012 theme, Women and Girls: The Invisible force of resilience. The stories have been taken from varied disaster contexts, such as flood, drought, tsunami, cloudburst or earthquake, and from different geographical areas of the country.

Besides celebrating the heroic efforts of women and girls in disaster risk reduction (DRR), this special issue highlights other features, such as: (i) the experts speak section with Madhavi M Ariyabandu (UNISDR-Asia Pacific) and Janki Andharia (TISS –Mumbai) reiterating the resourcefulness of women in DRR and their resilience-building capacities; (ii) a must-read section bringing the story of valour of a young girl who saved lives of 20 children during Mumbai floods (2005); (iii) did you know? in capsule forms, which provides facts and figures on disasters in India and reflects on some key policies of the government that can help build women’s resilience but currently overlook disaster situations and disaster-affected persons; and (iv) recommended resources for information on training tools/manuals that is likely to help in integrating gender in disaster risk management, books/articles, and informative portals on DRR.