quote:

---

Oxfam's report, due to be officially released Saturday, says up to 80 per cent of the people killed in some villages were women, primarily because men were either working inland or fishing far enough offshore to be safe when the series of waves hit.

It also says men were more likely to be able to swim, climb trees and hold on to poles and building beams when the powerful surge washed over them.

Anecdotal reports from the disaster have indicated that scores of women were swept away because they were holding on to children or lost their grip on trees and poles.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by skdadl:
Plus you can see the problems that Western aid agencies are going to have in some areas when, like Oxfam, they insist on paying women they employ the same wages as men -- help the women to independence, but increase the cultural friction at the same time.

---