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JOHN YANG: Few places in
the world are suffering
more from the effects

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of climate change than
Bangladesh. Most of the
country which is slightly
smaller than Iowa,

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is a flat plane no higher
than about 50 feet above
sea level. That makes it
vulnerable to the sort of

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severe flooding that's
now affecting more than
2 million people after
weeks of monsoon rains.

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And now there's another
effect. Women are changing
the way they think about

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having children. Sally Dijkerman
is a senior researcher for
Ipas, which is a reproductive

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justice organization. Sally
explain to us how these
effects of climate change

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are affecting women's health
and Bangladesh and especially
women's reproductive health.

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SALLY DIJKERMAN, Senior
Researcher, Ipas: Yeah, thank
you for that question. So what

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we found in our research along
the Bay of Bengal and these
communities that have been

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really hit hard by cyclones,
is that the climate crisis
is impacting everyone
but certain groups,

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especially women and
girls, are feeling those
impacts disproportionately
and that includes

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direct impacts on their
and reproductive health
outcomes for instance
experiencing miscarriage,

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pregnancy complications and
premature labor during these
intense storms and flooding.

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A lot of women have to go
to the cyclone centers where
they shelter during the

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storms. And there's not nurses
and doctors, medical supplies
or even sanitation materials

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for those women who do go
into labor, which is quite
common. And so they have

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to give birth in these
unsanitary conditions without a
healthcare professional present.

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JOHN YANG: And how is
this affecting their
decisions to have children?

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: Yeah,
so women are facing, you
know, the difficulty of
having to evacuate and

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putting their families
before their own health and
well-being. So for instance,

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women traditionally are
the caregivers in this
context. So they have
to make sure that their

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children and elderly people
and people with disabilities in
their community evacuate first,

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which means sometimes they are
the last ones to be thinking
about their own safety.

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And so what they see is that
other pregnant women are going
or are experiencing prematurity,

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pregnancy complications,
stillbirth and miscarriage
during these cyclones. And

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it's scary for them. And so
they think, well, you know,
I'm not ready to have a

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child when there's so much
instability and these extreme
weather events happening.

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But then there's also the other
side of that, where one woman
even talked in our research

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even talked about how she
wanted to have more children
to protect against potential

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childlessness. In the case
of her child being killed
during one of these storms,

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because children are also very
vulnerable during evacuation.

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JOHN YANG: Has there
been a marked difference
in child mortality?

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: So child
mortality linked directly
to these storms is something

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that's still being researched.
You know, the point here
really is that women and girls,

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including youth, are feeling
those impacts disproportionately
to other people in

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the community. And so it really
is causing them to reconsider
when they have children,

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and how many they how
many children they have.

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JOHN YANG: What other
effects are there of these,

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these effects of climate
change how they're affecting
life in Bangladesh?

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: So in
in Bangladesh, and in
all nine countries where
we've done this research,

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we're finding direct links
between the conditions
caused by the climate crisis

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and increases in child marriage.
So when the climate change
undermines the economic sectors

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like agriculture, there's
increased economic instability
and crisis in these families.

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And so women told me that
child marriage marrying off
one's daughters is being used

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as a coping mechanism,
both to receive additional
money from dowry payments,

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and also to have less
one less mouths to feed.

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JOHN YANG: And is there also
a connection or an effect
with violence against women?

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: Yeah,
so violence is increasing
for two reasons. First,

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this economic instability causes
so much stress in the family,
and that leads to more intimate

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partner violence. But
also women and especially
young girls talked about
how in cyclone centers

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in Bangladesh, where they're
sheltering from storms, there
is really poor security,

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poor lighting, and lack
of separate spaces and
toilets for men and women.

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And so these toilets, and
these spaces are a hotbed for
sexual harassment and violence.

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And so young girls told us that
they hold their urine for hours
on end because they're afraid of

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using the bathroom at
the recycling centers.
And that leads to a lot
of problems and pain.

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JOHN YANG: Are Bangladeshi women
responding in some way or the

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organizing, making demands
or calling for changes?

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: Yeah, so in
our research, women talked about
a few things that they want,

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and there are getting involved
in helping their communities
adapt to the climate crisis,

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and helping them for
instance, be part of these
disaster risk management
committees so they can

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feel prepared and ready to
evacuate in a safe and timely
manner. But women are asking for

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decent work opportunities,
access to sexual and
reproductive health
services in these

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cyclone centers and outside of
them. And these are just two
things that women are demanding.

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JOHN YANG: As the globe
warms as the temperatures
around the world are
rising. Do you think these

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this situation we're going
to see replicated in more and
more places around the world?

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: Yes,
absolutely. I mean,
extreme heat is extremely

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dangerous. Exposure to
extreme heat is very dangerous
for pregnant women. And

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that is something that we're
seeing across the globe,
whether you're in Bangladesh,

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Mozambique, Indonesia, or
in Texas. This exposure
to extreme heat for

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pregnant women has been linked
to miscarriage stillbirth low
birth weight and prematurity.

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JOHN YANG: Sally Dijkerman
of Ipas Thank you very much.

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SALLY DIJKERMAN: Thank you.