Women’s Month: Floods expose plight, pain of ‘powerless’ Khayelitsha women

It was no ordinary winter’s day on Wednesday, 11 July, when Palesa Base stepped out of her office on the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) upper campus, dressed cozily in a chunky winter jersey, boots and a long woollen scarf pulled up to her chin.

A savage storm gripped the Mother City that day, and as the south easter howled, it was clear that Base came dressed for the occasion. The suburb of Rondebosch was dark and dreary. But it was a far cry from what was afoot in most of Cape Town’s informal settlements and other densely populated areas across the city. Homes and roads there were flooded, and even as downpours continued,
mop-up operations were under way. It was a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” kind of thing. So, to prevent further waterlogged homes, thousands of Capetonians braved the cold, wet weather and scooped buckets of water out of their homes – teeth clattering but committed to the cause.

It was simply by chance that on the day Cape Town came to a standstill due to inclement weather, the UCT newsroom sat down with Base (with a hot beverage in reach) to discuss her latest research paper, which, in fact, honed in on adverse weather and unpacked the plight of women living in Khayelitsha during flood events. Fitting? We think so too. Base is a research assistant in UCT’s African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) and this work forms part of her honours research in Environmental and Geographical Science. It was made possible through a collaboration with two non-profit organisations: the Community Organisation Resource Centre and the Informal Settlement Network.

“I’ve sat pensive a few times this week thinking [about] just how much those women who participated in this research study have been affected by this storm. We see in the news that Khayelitsha is one of the communities hardest hit by the rain. It always is, which is why I made women there the focal point of this study,” Base said.

Base’s work forms part of a broader and ongoing set of research studies into understanding the impact and effect of climate change, with a particular focus on flooding in Cape Town.

A common occurrence

It’s widely known that flooding is one of the effects of climate change and over the years, flood events have escalated substantially in Cape Town. Research shows that it’s often those living on the margins of society, in informal settlements, who are most affected.

Because of the multi-dimensional role women play in the home and in their communities, Base decided to make them the focus of her research. It’s no secret, she said, that they wear many hats – primary caregiver, sole breadwinner and often single handedly shoulder a long list of responsibilities. She wanted to understand exactly how flood events impact their lives.

Her research study is titled: “Understanding the gendered and intersectional impacts of flooding on women living in the Emsindweni informal settlement”. It closely surveyed 14 women from the community, who candidly discussed their experiences as informal settlement dwellers and described the kind of impact living in a flood-risk community has on their lives. During focus group discussions, Base said participants grouped the impact of flooding into three key categories: economic (the impact on their livelihoods), health (the impact on their health and well-being) and social (the impact on their homes, the way they live and their relationships).

“While flood disasters don’t discriminate based on gender, it’s a fact that disasters like this disproportionately impact women. And different groups of women, who experience varying degrees on vulnerability, experience it differently,” Base said.

A financial blow

According to Base, most women living in Emsindweni participate in informal trading in the community and own small businesses, which they operate from their homes. This means that during a flood, everything comes to a grinding halt and results in a loss of income and increased financial instability.

“Flooding leads to significant destruction of homes and personal belongings, which also leads to loss in income and prolonged periods without an income,” Base said. “The damage caused by flooding also often means that these women need to relocate their homes temporarily. This further interrupts their daily activities to earn an income and substantially reduces the overall daily household income.”

And the ripple effect doesn’t end there. Because women don’t have access to personal or business insurance plans or savings accounts, replacing items lost during flood events are near impossible. This, Base added, compounds the financial strain they’re already under.

Health risk

But it’s the impact on their health and well-being that is gut wrenching. So, it comes as no surprise that Base’s research found that women are at their wits’ end during flood events. A lack of clean, running water and inadequate sanitation (also contaminated during flooding) makes going to the toilet an extremely difficult and daunting task, and places them at risk of contracting water-borne diseases like cholera and other viral and bacterial infections. 

“This means women are forced to use open defecation or makeshift facilities, which strips them of their dignity and increases the risk of diseases and genital infections.”

“The situation is absolutely dire. We just need to picture it. Floodwater leads to overflowed communal sanitation facilities and that renders them unusable. This means women are forced to use open defecation or makeshift facilities, which strips them of their dignity and increases the risk of diseases and genital infections,” she said.

Similarly, during menstruation, Base said, women reported that they have zero comforts to ensure that they are comfortable and that their hygiene needs are met. This exacerbates the stigma associated with menstruation and leads to feelings of embarrassment, which affects their mental health.

The women have spoken

With so much to contend with, Base said women are overextended and exhausted. And the crucial role they play in and around the home has become too much to handle, especially during extreme circumstances (like flooding), when too much responsibility rests squarely on their shoulders.

“Women often need to take on additional responsibilities during floods like securing clean water and ensuring their families are safe as they move to higher ground. This increases the burden. Then, there are tasks like maintaining household cleanliness and caring for family members and children in the home, which also fall on them, even when men are present. This leads to physical and mental exhaustion,” she said.

“All this exacerbates their vulnerabilities and limits their ability to cope and adapt to flood risks. The women have spoken. They need support, they need help and how they feel should not be overlooked.”

Targeted support

To adequately address flood risks in the Emsindweni informal settlement, Base said adopting nuanced, multifaceted approaches that consider the diverse experiences and identities of women living in the community are crucial. This includes introducing comprehensive, inclusive policies that recognise and respond to their needs and vulnerabilities.

“It is clear that flooding has a severe impact on women living in this informal settlement and their health, economic and social statuses are deeply affected,” she said.

“It’s important that we plug this gap to build strong ties between community organisations and government to improve adaptive capacities and the lives of women.”

“Where we are now, there is a significant gap when it comes to institutional support from local government and other agencies. It’s important that we plug this gap to build strong ties between community organisations and government to improve adaptive capacities and the lives of women.”

Base’s research is in the process of being produced into a documentary by the UCT TV studios, in partnership with the Stepping Stone young filmmaker development programme. To highlight UCT’s social responsiveness projects and human-interest stories, especially those related to the climate crisis, the documentary will capture the individual stories of the women of Emsindweni and their experiences during flood events.