To Örebro University

BACKGROUND: Men and women are equally affected by disasters, but they experience disaster in different ways. To provide new knowledge and promote women's involvement in all phases of the disaster management, we decided to capture the perspectives and experiences of the women themselves; and to explore the conditions affecting Iranian women after recent earthquake disasters.

METHODS: The study was designed as a qualitative content analysis. Twenty individuals were selected by purposeful sampling and data collected by in-depth, semi-structured interviews analysed qualitatively.

RESULTS: Three main themes were evident reflecting women's status after disaster: individual impacts of disaster, women and family, and women in the community. Participants experienced the emotional impact of loss, disorganisation of livelihood and challenges due to physical injuries. Women experienced changes in family function due to separation and conflicts which created challenges and needed to be managed after the disaster. Their most urgent request was to be settled in their own permanent home. This motivated the women to help reconstruction efforts.

CONCLUSIONS: Clarification of women's need after a disaster can help to mainstream gender-sensitive approaches in planning response and recovery efforts.