Gender and the social and economic impact of drought on the residents of Turkana district in Kenya
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Date
2003-02-19
Authors
Wawire, Violet K.
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Abstract
The study seeks to assess the adaptive strategies employed by men and
women within their respective social and economic backgrounds to cope with
challenges in the drought-stricken Turkana District.
The study utilizes qualitative research methods to exhaustively and
effectively explore the famine situation in the district. Consequently,
purposive sampling was used to select three locations with varying climatic
and social conditions within the district. These are: the dry purely pastoralist
Kapua area, the pastoralist agricultural area near Turkwell River and the
Kalokol area near Lake Turkana, where fishing is done. Key informant
interviews were used to obtain data from village elders, government officials
and men and women living in the district. Focussed group discussions were
used with officials working with the Catholic Christian Fund, a nongovernmental
organization working in the district to alleviate the effects of
drought. Direct observations of the social environment and document
analysis of related literature from various sources were also used. The data
analysis tools included content analysis and simple statistical methods to
complement the qualitative data.
Although both men and women play important roles in the pastoral
economies, women’s roles were found to be more taxing and crucial since
women were responsible for cultural reproduction in addition to domestic
chores and livestock production activities.
It was found that drought affected the performance of gender roles due to the
scarcity of basic resources for both humans and animals. The greatest
challenge faced by men was the reduction in their authority as household
heads and breadwinners since women were in charge of the famine relief
food. The challenges women faced constituted lack of time and energy to
perform their gender roles under the strenuous drought conditions.
The adaptive strategies employed by both men and women were noted to be
creative and practical, centring on the physical and social environment and on
gender roles. They included pastoral supportive activities such as agriculture
and fishing, migration, use of wild fruits and dried plants as human and
animal food, herd splitting, food preservation and water conservation
methods, assistance from charitable organizations, formation of youth/women
groups, and other economic activities. The study has identified gender as the
main determinant of how well the residents coped with drought. However,
gender was complemented and affected by factors such as proximity to urban
centres, the lake and the river; socio-economic status; and availability of
social networks.
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Food and agriculture organization of the united nations.