Global Journal of Human Social Science, C: Sociology and Culture, Volume 22 Issue 1

understanding of the greenhouse gases or their effect. They were not familiar with the names of greenhouse gases (e.g., carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides.), even though more than half of them had received primary or secondary education. Two of the respondents delivered their misconceptions about the greenhouse gases that are briefly described below- Only one among all respondents could provide accurate information about the greenhouse effect.Apart from mentioning some names of greenhouse gases, she stipulated her understanding of the rising of air temperature too. ii. Perception about the air quality of the surrounded area Respondents shared different perceptions about the air quality and disgusting smell in the air. According to 73% of respondents, the air of the locality is highly polluted because of garbage mismanagement, industrial emissions, transport-related fumes, and dust from industrial constructions. 27% of respondents who have been living in the area for six months to almost three years could not recognize chronological changes in the air quality. However, the rest 73% of respondents residing in the area for more than five years witnessed the massive transition in this regard. The reasons behind such transition of local air quality are the expansion of heavy industries, population growth, open dumping of waste, cutting down of trees, and careless attitude of the waste collectors in managing garbage properly, as identified by 20% of respondents. On the contrary, the rest of the population did not mention any reason behind poor air quality since they had no issue with the existing air quality or they were not concerned about the matter.33% reported the improved air quality compared to previous years. Interestingly, some respondents delivered highly positive responses about the status of the air due to their ignorance or observational misapprehension about a particular event (e.g., the severity of Covid -19 in the study area). One of such responses is as follow- “The air status of this area is too good. Here, no one has been affected by Corona. If you don’t believe my words, check it by talking with other people.” (Safia Bibi, 40 years old respondent, received primary education). iii. Health effects of indoor air pollution The majority of the respondents marked cooking as the dominant source of indoor air pollution. Mud furnaces, LPG stoves, and gas stoves in shared kitchens were found getting used respectively by 7%, 13%, and 80% of the respondents. An elderly iv. Health effects of outdoor air pollution “God gives illness to those who have a fear of getting an illness.” (Yasmin, 25 years old respondent) Diversified physical, psychological, and reproductive health consequences of air pollution such as headache, heat headache, stomach ache, eye irritation, skin irritation, cold, cough, shortness of breath, recurrent fever, desquamation of hand skin, burning and © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue I Version I 51 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 C Women’s Perception of Air Pollution and Associated Health Hazard Aspects – A Study in Low- Income Urban Space in Bangladesh “Greenhouse gases are helpful for our health.” (Shirina, 32 years old respondent, received primary education) “I know about greenhouse gases. These gases have different smells. We can’t produce them now in our country, but I have hope to produce them in the future.” (Safia Bibi, 40 years old respondent,received primary education). respondent (dependent member of the household) who has a mud furnace at home confirmed her coughing problem due to kitchen air, even though she does not cook. On the contrary, the LPG stove users denied the fact of facing health issues due to indoor air pollution during cooking. One of the LPG stove users, a professional cook, providing services in hostels, did not have a minimum concern about heavy fume emitted from the stove placed in her bedroom. On the other hand, almost all the gas stove users in the shared kitchen indicated the health vulnerabilities resulting from the lack of ventilation in their shared kitchens. Exposure to kitchen air pollution makes them suffer from usual health problems, including eye and throat irritation, headache, coughing problem, and shortness of breath. However,very few of the gas stove users were found not having care about kitchen pollution and associated health hazards either. The perception of 2 categories of respondents (working woman and homemaker) about ambient air pollution has been heard to comprehend if the exposure to outdoor pollution causes identical health outcomes for both categories or not. All of the homemakers, except one, disclosed the health sufferings that are experienced due to outdoor air pollution. According to the respondents with “homemaker” status, ambient air pollution affects their health in the same way it causes harm to the health of working women, even though they are not used to going outside the home on a frequent or regular basis. The working women think that the landfill sites, roads used by motorized vehicles, and manufacturing factories near their houses affect their health. In contrast, the working women think that they get affected directly by the environment of the industries they work for. 80% of the respondents specified the physical, psychological, and reproductive health hazards because of air pollution. However, the rest, 20%, strongly acknowledged that they have never undergone any health crises. Moreover, they explained their well-being by believing perspectives. They think that God is pleased with them, and it is why they never get sick. Even sickness as a form of punishment has been detected in some of the respondents’ words – “By the grace of God, I never get sick, and I know that I won’t suffer from any illness in the days to come. […] God does not punish those with illness who rely only on Him.” (Kulsum, 32 years old respondent)