Trapped in the cycle of vulnerability? Evictions, resettlements and disasters in Chennai, India

This paper unveils the lived experiences of women in Chennai resettlement areas of Pe-rumbakkam and Semmencherry encountering continuous disasters, focusing on how they navigate their lives through the multitude of challenges and adapt to the risks. Using feminist ethnographic method along with interactions, the study captures the realities of everyday lives of women, tracing the experiences from evictions to resettlements and how the gendered aspects of inequalities exacerbate the existing social vulnerabilities. Within the context of disasters and resettlements, understanding the gentrification and challenges faced by women that are intertwined with the social, economic and political structures, reveals the difficulties in accessing the resources, family issues, health and security concerns. The paper also emphasis on the critical aspects of imposing resilience, which further leads to reproduction of vulnerability in terms of overlooking the larger systemic errors. By employing a gender lens, the study highlights the need for amplifying women’s voice and agency in resettlement and disaster polices. This work contributes to the deeper understanding of lived experiences and calls for more gender-inclusive policies. Overall, the study suggests that rather than underlining the individual adaptation strategies, its needs for a better systemic support.