Not being able to fully participate in the society in which one live is being excluded. Exclusion in India is centred in societal institutions and interrelations that exclude, discriminate, isolate and deprive certain groups based upon group identities like ethnicity and caste. Thus, the caste system promotes forced exclusion, where each caste has set economic, civil and cultural rights and one is not supposed to change between the castes. The caste system refuses equality, freedom and human rights, especially of low-castes and untouchables, the latter's name itself indicates exclusion.
The economically and socially marginalized are also often the excluded and the ones that by and large suffer the most from disasters. In India, tribal groups, low-cast people, women, labourers, children and elders are among the most vulnerable, discriminated against and often excluded from many areas in the society. They often do not have the opportunity to utter their political voice, to access livelihood options, to access markets, to access information, to access the legal system as well as access assistance during disasters. A number of factors make them vulnerable, yet not without capacities.
Exclusion and disasters
Disasters are often gendered; women are generally more vulnerable than men in a disaster. During flooding in Bangladesh more women than men perish because fewer men than women know how to swim and cannot save themselves from the floodwater. Elder women and young girls from lower caste communities in India are therefore among the most vulnerable to disasters. Six of AIDMI's trainings within the last year focused exclusively on women-led disaster management. An empowerment and increase in women's resilience will have an enormous significance in a disaster situation. And that is why AIDMI wants to include more schools like the government funded initiative; Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyelayer, with one school in Bihar in its Child's right to safer school: a national campaign. The boarding school has 50 girls from poor low caste families in Bihar. Educating these girls, not only on disaster risk reduction, but vocational skills, their rights is a great investment in these girls' and their families' futures.
Vulnerabilities in disasters
There are a number of factors that make certain groups more vulnerable to disasters. The excluded are habitually already put on the fringe of the society and are forced to occupy unsafe land areas or live in high-density areas. They have a lack of mobility while working in vulnerable low paid occupations. The education level is low and so is the perception of risk as well as the absence of disaster management and planning.
Physical vulnerabilities like buildings at risk, unsafe infrastructure, unsafe critical facilities and rapid urbanisation jeopardise vulnerable groups' safety. Concerning economic vulnerability, many of India's poor people live from mono-crop agriculture, have a non-diversified economy, are indebted and rely on relief and welfare. Environmental degradation like deforestation, pollution of ground water and the effects of climate change worsen their living conditions4.
The effects of climate change are hanging over us like low-lying dark clouds. It is commonly agreed upon the fact that we cannot escape the effects, they will affect us all, but again the worlds' poorest and excluded are the ones who will form the majority of the worst affected. An increased intensity of hazards put their livelihoods, settlements and infrastructure at risk. AIDMI aims to work keeping in mind the various aspects related to climate change and how we best can adapt to it. Being vulnerable in so many different areas makes it incredibly challenging for these groups to improve their own situation.
