Maasai women’s empowerment & food security in Tanzania

The article “Women’s empowerment, food security and nutrition of pastoral communities in Tanzania” by Alessandra Galiè et al (2019, published in Global Food Security 23: 125–134) is based on a study of the relationship between Maasai women’s empowerment, household food security, and maternal and child diet diversity (as one indicator of nutrition security) in Tanzania. Indicators across three domains of women’s empowerment – access to and control over land and livestock, control and use of income, and workload and control over time – were scored and matched to a scale of household food security. Qualitative research helped appreciate the gender dynamics affecting the links between women’s empowerment, food security and nutrition. Quantitative analyses showed that scores from each domain were significantly associated with women’s dietary diversity but not with household food security. In the qualitative analysis, all three empowerment domains were positively associated with food security and nutrition. The article discusses the pathways by which women perceived that their empowerment affected their household food security.

Posted on 24 April 2022 in Pastoralism, Gender & Youth, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition