Women's Vulnerability In Climate Change (A Sociological Study Of The Impact Of El Nino in Makassar City)

Sopian Tamrin (Universitas Negeri Makassar)
Riri Amandaria (James Cook University College of Arts, Society, and Education)
Jusnawati Jusnawati (Universitas Negeri Makassar)
Sunaniah Sunaniah (Universitas Negeri Makassar)

Mamangan Social Science Journal
Vol 15, No 2 (2026): Jurnal Ilmu Sosial Mamangan Accredited 2 (SK Dirjen Ristek Dikti No. 0173/C3/DT

Climate change, exacerbated by the El Niño phenomenon, has severely disrupted clean water access in Makassar City, creating a multidimensional crisis that extends beyond practical water shortages to threaten long-term community sustainability. This crisis disproportionately impacts women, yet sociological research examining gender vulnerability in urban climate contexts remains limited. This descriptive qualitative study aims to comprehensively depict the circumstances of women in Makassar during the 2023-2024 El Niño drought and analyze the structural factors that shape their vulnerability. Data were collected through observations and in-depth interviews with housewives and analyzed using gender analysis and socialist feminist theory. The research employed a case study approach across five affected sub-districts (Tamalanrea, Biringkanaya, Panakukang, Tallo, and Ujung Tanah), utilizing in-depth interviews with 15 housewives and direct field observations over three months. The findings reveal that women bear a significantly heavier burden than men during water shortages. Responsible for domestic duties within the patriarchal Bugis community, they experience disrupted schedules leading to physical exhaustion, dehydration, and heightened health vulnerabilities. Their traditional role as household water managers makes them more susceptible to environmental changes. Gender analysis demonstrates that the patriarchal system subordinates women by confining them to the domestic sphere, perpetuating male advantage even during crises. A socialist feminist perspective further identifies women as unpaid laborers whose domestic work remains unrecognized as legitimate employment, reinforcing structural inequality. This research contributes novelty through its integration of urban climate vulnerability analysis with socialist feminist critique in the Makassar context, revealing how patriarchal resilience mechanisms paradoxically maintain women's subordination while enabling household survival. Consequently, emancipation at the family level is essential through reformed understandings of domestic labor, supported by social policies ensuring equitable responsibility distribution and formal recognition of domestic work as valid labor.