Effects of Droughts on Pastoralist and Agro-Pastoralist Women in Somaliland

Droughts have long been affecting the Somali society, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. Although these persistent and recurrent droughts have affected all the members of the community in Somaliland, both in urban and rural areas, they have had a rather adverse impact on pastoral and agro-pastoral women. These vulnerable groups of society become victims of changing climate and ecological patterns than any other section of the community as droughts put greater risk on their livelihoods. This study assesses the impact of droughts on Somaliland’s pastoralist and agro-pastoralist women. The study has relied on both primary and secondary data. In the primary data, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were employed, while literature related to the subject were also reviewed. The study found that the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist women have struggled against long-lasting problems and difficulties, as most of them, if not all, have lost livestock and crops against the shocks of climate, and witnessed shortage or absence of rainwater and pasture. As a result, their social lives have suffered most and changed for the worst. However, there are no early mitigation measures for the onset of persistent and perilous recurrent droughts. Meanwhile, prolonged droughts continue to reduce the number of herds and crops owned by these hardworking women which significantly diminishes their sole source of income. While the negative impacts of drought are highly gendered, the responses from both the Somaliland Government and civil society organizations are highly holistic and don’t give attention to gendered impact. It is essential to make these responses gendered if there is a need to bring about change to the most marginalized parts of society – the women.