Chapter 5 - “Reign from behind the curtain”- Women's leadership during post-earthquake stages in rural areas in Sichuan, China

Based on two cases of post-earthquake reconstruction and recovery in Sichuan, China, namely the Wenchuan earthquake (2008) and the Lushan earthquake (2013), this chapter focuses on discovering women's leadership activities in the post-disaster reconstruction and recovery. Gleaned from local women's focus groups, in-depth interviews with various stakeholders affected by the earthquakes, and observations made by local adult women on site at the reconstruction areas, this chapter explores the role of the adult female residents' forthright engagement and leadership capacity through the course of the entire post-disaster reconstruction and recovery. This chapter argues that the women's indirect and informal engagement enhanced their leadership capacity, accelerated the entire the reconstruction and recovery process, advanced the quality of their lives post-disaster, and eventually contributed to the improvement of community resilience.