Working to close gap that makes heated city unlivable for women: Bushra Afreen

The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) is working to make life bearable for women in the communities with some solutions amid heatwaves, said its Chief Heat Officer Bushra Afreen.

"We are prioritising solutions like providing drinking water at bus stops and coupling this with accessible women-friendly washrooms to ensure that women can easily find relief and safety during their daily commutes," she said in a video message.

Afreen, who attended a session as a panelist at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), said this is only the beginning of their journey to counteract the threat of heat and create a sustainable and cooler future for Dhaka.

She said 2023 was the hottest year on record and last month's heatwaves in Dhaka were longer and more intense than ever before.

Afreen said the heat felt suffocating making it literally too hot to breathe.

"As the chief heat officer, I have observed the impact of these temperatures on women living in informal settlements," she said.

She said, "The recent closure of schools due to the heat have left women juggling childcare alongside their work, which further marginalised them in a city which was never built for them.

"Our efforts are centered on closing the gap that makes our heated city so unlivable for women," she said.

Leading up to their heat awareness campaign, she said, they are identifying their daily greatest challenges and the risks they face during heatwaves.

Country's maximum temperature was recently recorded at 43.8 degree Celsius in Jashore.

Arsht-Rock, a Washington-based non-profit organisation, appointed social entrepreneur Bushra Afreen as its chief heat officer who is working in Dhaka North City Corporation area.

Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) set out to reach one billion people worldwide with resilience solutions by 2030.