Disaster Recovery through Women’s Eyes

Kaira Zoe Alburo-Cañete is a Filipino feminist scholar grounded in Anthropology and Critical Development Studies. Her work examines the everyday politics and ethics of living with, responding to, and recovering from disasters and other forms of crisis.

"At a time when complex disasters demand that we revisit old scripts and tired lenses, Kaira Alburo-Cañete offers an important contribution to disaster studies. By privileging the everyday tactics of urban women faced with the long and arduous task of recovering from disasters, she offers a feminist vision of resilience that resists the inertia of technocratic approaches and presents possibilities for confronting adversity rooted in mutuality, care, and agency. Through a feminist methodological approach that privileges the situated knowledge of women negotiating catastrophic consequences in Tacloban City, Philippines, her book demonstrates how centring perspectives at the margins can generate richer understandings and more equitable pathways toward disaster recovery."Pamela Gloria Cajilig, Senior Fellow, The Equity Initiative"This book is a much needed and a long-awaited contribution to disaster studies. Alburo-Cañete masterfully turns the argument that ‘women are vulnerable’ on its head and instead shows that hope, care, and emotions are what matters if we are to truly understand resilience. Beautifully written, this is not just an insightful investigation but also a story of recovery rather than destruction, a story of lives through womens’ eyes." Ksenia Chmutina, Professor of Disaster Studies, Loughborough University, UK"Ang aklat na ito ni K.Z. Alburo-Cañete ay isang mahalagang ambag sa ating pag-unawa sa karanasan ng kababaihan sa pahanon ng kahirapan at kasakitan sa Pilipinas. Magandang halimbawa ng isang mabusisi at matapat na pananaliksik ang kanyang pag-aaral ukol sa nangyari noong tumama sa Kabisayaan ang bagyong Yolanda. Lalung makabuluhan ang akdang ito dahil ang balangkas ng pag-aalaga ay nangagaling sa pananaw ng isang pampook na babaeng iskolar. Tugma ito sa katwiran ng Manipesto sa Pag-aaral ng Kalamidad: Kapangyarihan, Prestihiyo at mga Nakaligtaang Pagpapahalaga."[This book by K.Z. Alburo-Cañete is an important contribution to our understanding of women’s experiences in the midst of hardship and suffering in the Philippines. Her study on what transpired when Typhoon Yolanda struck the Visayas serves as a fine example of careful and grounded research. This work is especially meaningful because its care framework stems from the perspective of a local female scholar. It aligns directly with the rationale of the Manifesto for Disaster Studies: Power, Prestige, and Forgotten Values.]JC Gaillard, Ahorangi o te Matawhenua, Waipapa Taumara Rau, AotearoaKatipunan da reng Talasaliksik at Talaturung Kapampangan, Indung Kapampangan

• Introduction: Encountering Resilience in Uncertain Times 1. Epistemologies of the Vulnerable Part 1: 'Building Back Better' 2. Benevolent Discipline 3. Governing Through Women Part 2: Reimagining Resilience 4. A House of One's Own 5. Lived Resilience Conclusion: Hope in Virulent Times