The effect of drought and economic decline on rural women in western Sudan
Gray, L.
Geoforum 24(1): 89-98
1993
ISSN/ISBN: 0016-7185 DOI: 10.1016/0016-7185(93)90017-cDocument Number: 356173
The article illustrates how long-term economic instability has combined with drought to make women in a small village in western Sudan more vulnerable to impoverishment. Increased drought and government insolvency and indifference have forced poor farmers to rely on local resources and coping strategies. A case study from Bireka village located in Sheikan Council, an administrative area that lies just south of El Obeid, the capital of the province of Kordofan, demonstrates differences in strategies between women and men, and among women of different ethnicities and social status. The article describes how inequalities in agricultural production reflect social and economic constraints. These differences make it more difficult for women to accumulate assets and savings that are the primary insurance against a poor agricultural season. Women, however, have other options for income generation, but these too are severely affected by drought and economic decline. These crises have combined to change the nature of gender relations. While certainly rural populations, and especially women and children, are more vulnerable to future risks, the changing gender relations may be forming the foundation of new coping strategies in the face of ecological crisis.
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