Pastoral Women’s Responsiveness in Drought Adaptation Strategiesfor Sustainable Livelihoods in Asayita and Aballa Districts, Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: Pastoralist communities in the Asayita and Aballa districts of the Afar Region, Ethiopia, are increasingly vulnerable to recurrent droughts and climate variability. Within these communities, women play a central role in managing household livelihoods. Climate shocks disproportionately affect them, yet their adaptive knowledge and capacities remain significant and often under recognized. Objective: The study aimed to assess how pastoral women in Asayita and Aballa respond to drought, participate in decision-making, and access institutional support.
Methods: The study employed a mixed-methods design combining a household survey, focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews (KIIs), and field observations. The household survey covered 300 pastoralist households, with 150 respondents selected from each district. Qualitative data were collected through 8 FGDs (4 per district), with 5 participants in each group, resulting in 40 FGD participants, and 10 KIIs (5 per district) involving local administrators, development agents, and NGO personnel. Participants were selected using purposive and stratified sampling techniques. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically.
Results: The findings reveal a stark gender imbalance in climate adaptation. Women carry out nearly all domestic and survival tasks, including preparing food (86.7%), fetching water (80.7%), cleaning (86.3%), childcare (73.7%), grinding grain (100%), building Qarrey (traditional houses) (100%), and mat weaving (88.3%), with participation rates far exceeding men’s. Key livelihood challenges identified were poor transportation (85%), food insecurity (83.7%), and water scarcity (82.3%), along with limited health services (74%), fuelwood shortages (55%), and lack of agricultural inputs (43.7%). Despite their contributions, women’s labor remains undervalued. In MHH, men contribute by virtue of presence, not shared responsibility. In FHHs, women shoulder all burdens with minimal support. Exclusion from decision-making and inadequate post-disaster aid further limits women’s adaptive capacity.
Conclusions Strengthening resilience in pastoralist communities depends on prioritizing women's inclusion in development initiatives. Economic empowerment of women, along with their involvement in adaptation planning, is crucial for building effective climate resilience within communities