ABSTRACT
Migration, in academic literature, has traditionally been studied as a challenge to the infrastructure, social cohesion and security of receiving areas. This emphasis on the issues of receiving areas related to migrant influx has, unfortunately, overshadowed the challenges faced by sending areas in the wake of male out-migration. Yet, there is considerable evidence that protracted conflict and recurring climate-induced disaster in vulnerable areas has had a clear and disproportionate impact on women, especially those running households after the out-migration of male family members. Women in rural Pakistan are especially at risk in this regard, owing to the prevalence of cultural and economic barriers that limit their mobility and ability to access relief and rehabilitation services. Thus, by using qualitative information from Dera Ghazi Khan (D.G. Khan) and North Waziristan, this chapter will: i) highlight the changes in gender roles and women’s agency at household and community level due to male migratory trends; and ii) argue for strategies that build resilience of women in migrant-sending areas, especially female household heads, at times of crisis. This approach is expected to support mainstreaming of gender considerations in the policy discourse and enable the creation of more proactive, gender-sensitive adaptation measures and crisis management strategies.
