United States (EFE).- United Nations Women reported on Friday that approximately 157,050 women and girls in the Nepalese districts of Rasuwa and Nuwakot have been directly or indirectly affected by Wednesday’s floods. These individuals now face an increased risk of violence, exploitation, and trafficking.
In a statement, the organization warned that women and girls are at «heightened risks of violence and exploitation,» as well as difficulties accessing food, water, healthcare, and protection services.
«What we do know is that existing risks for women and girls skyrocket when disasters hit,» said Patricia Fernandez-Pacheco, UN Women’s representative in Nepal, in the statement. She noted that women also shoulder a greater burden of unpaid care work and face greater difficulties in accessing information and assistance.
She added that in the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, and Chitwan, approximately one in three women is illiterate, which makes it difficult for them to access information about aid, registration processes, and applying for assistance independently.
Furthermore, a woman heads one in three households in Nepal’s Bagmati Province, and one-third of those households depend on remittances, a source of income that is currently under pressure.
