This article focuses on the social power gender carries to meet the challenges of a disaster and recover from its effects. Not only are women’s fundamental human right to life violated during a disaster, women’s fundamental rights to economic and housing security are also violated, causing women to die needlessly and disproportionately. Discussing the practical and political implications of highlighting women’s rights, the authors argue that ‘‘gender-blind’’ post disaster recovery easily reconstructs women’s subordination, leaving communities even more vulnerable to future events.