Gender Distortions and Development Disasters: Women and Milk in African Herding Systems
The pastoral peoples of Africa are spread across the vast semi arid rangelands, the largest herding zone on any continent. This paper challenges the enduring invisibility of women in this underdeveloped region by focusing on the traditional importance of women's work in milk production. Much of the scholarly literature on African pastoralism belittles women's traditional role in the use and management of livestock. This biased view acts as a barrier to our understanding of women's lives in this setting and undermines women's potential involvement as agents and beneficiaries of pastoral development. Among African herders, indigenous subsistence is based on milk and on women's work in dairying. Women's involvement in milk production is an important element in the strong sense of personal identity that frequently characterizes women in pastoral communities. Dairying provides women with use rights and even ownership of animals. Women manipulate these rights in their own self interest and the interests of their children. With the donor sponsored introduction of commercial meat production, particularly after the Sahel drought in the 1970's, women began to lose their valued work role and their rights in animals. An appropriate alternative may be found in small scale dairying. This activity would allow women to maintain their traditional involvement in milk production with greater benefit to themselves, as well as to African national economies.