How Women Pastoralists Suffer Climate Change Effects the Most

Climate change discriminates on women pastoralists 

While climate change is a subject in the global arena, it has proven discriminatory based on social status, geographic location, and gender, among others.

Following a discussion hosted by Enviro Wild on the linkage between climate change and pastoralism, women from this community are profoundly impacted compared to those from other communities. Case scenarios came from Karamoja Uganda and Turkana, Pokot, Samburu from Kenya.

Climate change has not only enslaved women pastoralists but subjected them to continued retrogressive cultures such as Female Genital Mutilation.

Case from a guest speaker

Winnie, who runs a community project that rescues girls from the cut in Pokot, says climate change has facilitated FGM to thrive because of change in weather patterns. She says the perpetrators take advantage of the heavy rains that come unexpectedly, making it hard for rescuers to detect the ongoing events.

The drought, for instance, is an effect of climate change, leads to drying of fodder, rivers, and lakes, forcing the men to migrate in search of water and pastures for the cattle while leaving women to provide for their families. The same women travel long distances in search of water; they spend lots of time that could be translated into more productive activities.

More about land use, land ownership in these communities were the discussion. Find the recorded discussions below