Women and girls in pastoralist societies are doubly marginalized; first as pastoralists that live in uncertainty and are facing new challenges to their livelihood, and second, as women in societies that restrict their participation in decision making processes. They are extremely vulnerable to climate change and climate related shocks, as well as associated challenges such as resource loss, conflict, and outbreak of animal diseases.

Despite this, pastoralist women are responding to these challenges by innovating and making the most of new opportunities. They play a key role in pastoral resilience and the future sustenance of the livelihood. In light of this, the discussion on “Women’s empowerment in pastoralist societies” jointly organized by the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub and the Coalition of European Lobbies for East African Pastoralism (CELEP) during the European Development Days in Brussels, Belgium, called for the recognition of and promotion of women’s roles in pastoralist communities.

Cathy Watson, coordinator of the Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards (LEGS) project, said, “It is important to recognize and understand pastoral women’s vital role in livestock production and management. Otherwise their key skills and knowledge to respond to emergencies are undermined and even eroded.” She emphasized the differential impact of disasters on men and women, and gave examples to show that successful emergency response consider the needs of pastoralist women.

UNESCO’s Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) project tries to connect indigenous pastoralists’ knowledge with climate action, working with pastoralists across the Arctic as well as across 6 African countries. Veronica Gonzalez-Gonzalez, coordinator of the African component of the Climate Frontlines project, gave examples through which pastoralist women successfully identify oncoming disasters. For example, by assessing the behavior of milk – how it thickens, curdles, etc – they are able to recognize the onset of animal diseases. Similarly, pastoralist women are well aware of the phenology of firewood trees and can predict different weather conditions by observing these. Therefore, they play a key role in pastoralist resource management and mobility decisions, such as where and when to move.

In Somalia, as pastoralist men move for longer durations and greater distances in response to successive droughts, pastoralist women, who are left behind, are able to establish complementary businesses to diversify their income source and remain resilient in the face of harsh weather conditions. Sadia Ahmed, country representative for Somalia for the Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) says that pastoralist women are increasingly found selling small stock, leading the milk value chain, trading in animal products such as ghee, hides and skins, as well as engaging in petty trade. In fact, pastoralist women have built sophisticated networks through which they sell milk, meet day-to-day needs, and save in rotating funds.

Roberto Aparicio-Martin, policy officer at the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission (DG DEVCO), said that they fully supported the idea that pastoralism was economically and ecologically the best alternative in drylands. Further, pastoralists are not only victims of climate change but can also contribute to its mitigation. Recognizing the role of women in pastoralist systems, the EU is supporting women pastoralist networks and their role in participatory rangeland management in Kenya and Pakistan, for example. He reiterated that the EU is committed to mainstreaming gender in its activities in pastoral areas.  

What is most evident through these interventions is that pastoralist women have a wealth of knowledge and a range of strategies through which to respond to climate related problems. Therefore, if pastoralists wish to effectively surpass the challenges they must recognize and support pastoralist women. Empowering and investing in pastoralist women is the only way to achieving resilient and sustainable pastoralism.