Rashid S F, Michaud S
Research and Evaluation Division (RED), BRAC Centre, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Disasters. 2000 Mar;24(1):54-70. doi: 10.1111/1467-7717.00131.
This paper explores the experiences of female adolescents during the 1998 floods in Bangladesh, focusing on the implications of socio-cultural norms related to notions of honour, shame, purity and pollution. These cultural notions are reinforced with greater emphasis as girls enter their adolescence, regulating their sexuality and gender relationships. In Bangladeshi society, adolescent girls are expected to maintain their virginity until marriage. Contact is limited to one's family and extended relations. Particularly among poorer families, adolescent girls tend to have limited mobility to safeguard their 'purity'. This is to ensure that the girl's reputation does not suffer, thus making it difficult for the girl to get married. For female adolescents in Bangladesh, a disaster situation is a uniquely vulnerable time. Exposure to the unfamiliar environment of flood shelters and relief camps, and unable to maintain their 'space' and privacy from male strangers, a number of the girls were vulnerable to sexual and mental harassment. With the floods, it became difficult for most of the girls to be appropriately 'secluded'. Many were unable to sleep, bathe or get access to latrines in privacy because so many houses and latrines were under the water. Some of the girls who had begun menstruation were distressed at not being able to keep themselves clean. Strong social taboos associated with menstruation and the dirty water that surrounded them made it difficult for the girls to wash their menstrual cloths or change them frequently enough. Many of them became separated from their social network of relations, which caused them a great deal of anxiety and stress. Their difficulty in trying to follow social norms have had far-reaching implications on their health, identity, family and community relations.
本文探讨了孟加拉国1998年洪灾期间女性青少年的经历，重点关注与荣誉、羞耻、纯洁和污染观念相关的社会文化规范的影响。随着女孩进入青春期，这些文化观念得到了更加强化，对她们的性行为和性别关系进行规范。在孟加拉社会，少女在结婚前应保持贞洁。接触仅限于家人和亲属。特别是在贫困家庭中，少女为保护自己的“纯洁”往往行动受限。这是为了确保女孩的声誉不受损害，从而使女孩难以结婚。对于孟加拉国的女性青少年来说，灾难时期是一个特别脆弱的时期。由于身处洪水避难所和救济营这种陌生环境，且无法与陌生男性保持自己的“空间”和隐私，一些女孩容易受到性侵犯和精神骚扰。随着洪水来袭，大多数女孩都难以得到适当的“隔离”。许多人无法在私密环境中睡觉、洗澡或使用厕所，因为很多房屋和厕所都被水淹没了。一些开始来月经的女孩因无法保持清洁而苦恼。与月经以及她们周围的脏水相关的强烈社会禁忌，使得女孩们难以清洗月经布或频繁更换。她们中的许多人与自己的社会关系网络分离，这给她们带来了极大的焦虑和压力。她们在遵守社会规范方面的困难对其健康、身份认同、家庭和社区关系都产生了深远影响。
