Locating the Gender Voice in the Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Discourse of ASEAN

Abstract

Hearing the disaster risk and reduction management (DRRM) approach of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states (AMS) from the AMS themselves is an attempt to decenter the non-ASEAN critical discourse that says ASEAN is lacking dedication in forwarding a truly holistic and proactive approach to natural disaster. While understanding the contexts, perceptions, and discourses that could forward the discussions regarding the ASEAN Member States (AMS) and their experience of natural disasters provides a space for the AMS, there are other voices that can be surfaced, not just the institutional voice. This study shall re-examine the AMS speeches performed in intergovernmental fora and conferences to locate the gender voice. How do the AMS represent gender in the natural disaster discourse? What space do the AMS provide for gender voice in natural disaster management discourse? Using discourse analysis, the recorded speeches (with audio, visual, and written speech transcription) from each of the ten (10) ASEAN Member States (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam) through their representative in inter-governmental fora or conferences relating to Natural Disasters will be analyzed to surface the gender voice.