Exploring linkages between women empowerment and resilience to natural disasters in Pakistan

This study attempts to measure and analyse linkages between women empowerment and resilience to floods in rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. I first derive a measure of resilience and women empowerment using indices. Next, econometric regression models are run and potential interlinkages between the two are tested. Results appear to indicate that the proportion of literate women in a household and education of the household head plays a significant role in empowering women, whereas access to basic amenities, occupation and health status of the household head significantly contribute in increasing the resilience of the household. Lastly, the extent of women empowerment seems to enhance resilience of a household, but not conversely.