Defying drought and water scarcity in rural Zimbabwe: Women’s agency in Mtelo village, Zhombe, 2000-2017

Abstract

Water scarcity is a challenge for most drought-prone rural areas in Zimbabwe. It negatively impacts agricultural production and necessitates non-farm interventions to reduce food insecurity. This paper deals with a crucial topic in the field of gender studies, livelihoods and resilience in drought-endemic areas. Women in Mtelo exercised agency to address challenges that were posed by water scarcity to their livelihoods. While they exhibited agency, the paper contends that structural factors such as patriarchy affected the effectiveness of the women's agency. The significant body of literature and scholarship on women's agency and resilience to water scarcity in Zimbabwe's drought-risk districts such as Sanyati, Gokwe, Chivi and Gwanda, to name a few, demonstrates that women often came up with creative and sustainable ways to navigate water scarcity challenges to secure their livelihoods. The paper significantly contributes to existing literature on women's agency through examining the various ways women defied patriarchy to secure water for household use. Using a qualitative research approach, the paper examines various forms of agency utilised by women in the Mtelo community. It shows the heterogeneity of women and the differentiated impacts of social, economic and structural factors on women and men in Mtelo. The study finds and concludes that the livelihood problems faced by women in this rural area can be solved by their active participation in governance structures and through integrating gender-sensitive approaches in strategies to improve rural livelihoods. It thus provides a refreshing argument on women's agency and structural factors versus economic empowerment in the Mtelo rural community.