From time to time, one has the opportunity to read a truly informative and sensitive piece of work on disasters and women's health. This article deserves both comment and praise. It is very rare in the literature that a publication genuinely captures “lessons learned” from the field with insight and appreciation of both cultural and gender sensitivity. This article addresses the social imperative for the inclusion of gender as a socio-cultural construct in emergency response and recovery, with particular attention to the unique need for respectful interventions in traditional, conservative societies which value sexual modestyand female vulnerability.