Drought and social conflict in rural Zimbabwe: Does the burden fall on women and girls?

• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Author: Lloyd Chigusiwa,George Kembo,Terrence Kairiza
• Date: 01 February 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12944

REGULAR ARTICLE

Drought and social conflict in rural Zimbabwe:

Does the burden fall on women and girls?

Lloyd Chigusiwa

1

| George Kembo

2

| Terrence Kairiza

1

1

Department of Economics, Bindura

University of Science Education, Bindura,

Zimbabwe

2

Food and Nutrition Council of

Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe

Correspondence

Terrence Kairiza, Department of

Economics, Bindura University of Science

Education, P. Bag 1020, Bindura,

Zimbabwe.

Email: tkairiza@buse.ac.zw

Abstract

Climate change–induced extreme weather events such

as drought have occurred with increasing frequency

and intensity in Zimbabwe over the past 30 years bring-

ing about pressure on communally owned water

resources. Using the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assess-

ment Committee 2020 survey of rural households in

Zimbabwe, this study assesses the impact of drought

shock on the occurrence of water point violence. The

impact of self-reported drought shock on the likelihood

of occurrence of social conflict in the form of water

point violence is subject to confounding due to selec-

tion bias. Using the doubly robust inverse probability

weighted regression adjustment to account for con-

founding, we investigate gender dimensions of the

impact of drought on inducing water point violence in

rural Zimbabwe. The study offers three major findings.

First, drought shock is associated with increased house-

hold propensity to experience water point violence.

Second, the severity of the drought shock impact

increases the probability of the household experiencing

water point violence. Third, drought shock–induced

water point violence is only statistically valid for house-

holds where the water-fetcher is a woman or girl. The

results suggest that the impact of drought shocks on

Received: 23 September 2021 Revised: 19 July 2022 Accepted: 12 September 2022

DOI: 10.1111/rode.12944

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits

use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or

adaptations are made.

© 2022 The Authors. Review of Development Economics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

178 Rev Dev Econ. 2023;27:178–197.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/rode

water point violence is gendered and disadvantages

women and girls more than men and boys.

KEYWORDS

drought, violence against women, water

1|INTRODUCTION

Whereas access to clean water has been an elusive goal for most sub-Saharan African countries,

especially among the poorest rural communities, climate change–induced extreme weather

events such as drought aggravate the situation (Vörösmarty, Green, Salisbury, &

Lammers, 2000). An estimated 64% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa has no access to

clean water, compared with 2% in the developed world (WHO/UNICEF, 2021). Numerous stud-

ies report a decline in rainfall in Southern Africa in recent years (Bellprat et al., 2015; Funk

et al., 2018; IPCC, 2014,2021; Yuan, Wang, & Wood, 2018), and an increase in dry months of

up to 50% as a result of climate change (IPCC, 2021; Lehmann, Mempel, & Coumou, 2018).

Poor institutional arrangements and governance exacerbate water shortages as only 4% of

annual renewable water flows are harvested and stored in sub-Saharan Africa compared with

70%–90% in developed countries (WWAP, 2009). With global water usage projected to increase

at a rate of about 1% per year at the back of increasing population, economic development, and

shifting consumption patterns (UNESCO, 2020), sub-Saharan Africa is certain to be among the

regions to bear the biggest brunt of water shortages.

Apart from encumbering the attainment of sustainable development goal 6 of achieving uni-

versal access to clean water and sanitation (WHO/UN-WATER, 2019), drought has modified

the conditions under which social interactions occur (Carleton, Hsiang, & Burke, 2016). In the

absence of formal distribution channels like local authorities, the resultant distributional bur-

den of drought-induced water scarcity is marred with inefficiencies and is often skewed toward

certain groups within societies that bestir disgruntlement thereby increasing the likelihood of

violent confrontation and conflict at the water point (Roche, Müller-Itten, Dralle, Bolster, &

Muller, 2020). The predicted increase in frequency and severity of climate anomalies like

drought is perceived to likely accentuate future social conflict and instability (Burke, Hsiang, &

Miguel, 2015; Chen, 2015; Couttenier & Soubeyran, 2014; IPCC, 2007; Jia, 2014; Koubi, 2019;

Maystadt & Ecker, 2014. Mitchell & Maxwell, 2010).

The burden of sustaining livelihoods during drought is disproportionately higher in rural

areas in developing countries where there are no provisions to transport water through pipes

for convenience of use (Detges, 2016; Koubi, 2019; Pauw, Thurlow, Bachu, & Van

Seventer, 2011). During drought episodes, rural people typically travel long distances to fetch

water from communally owned sources, which results in a tragedy of the commons

(Detges, 2016). One of the sub-optimal results of drought-induced pressure on communally

owned water sources is the social conflict that may culminate in violence at the water point

(Berman, Shapiro, & Felter, 2011; Hendrix & Salehyan, 2012). As a result of traditional and cul-

turally defined gender roles within the household, the burden of collecting water largely falls

on women and girls (Chattopadhyay & Duflo, 2004; Koolwal & Van de Walle, 2013; Rao,

Lawson, Raditloaneng, Solomon, & Angula, 2019). This places women and girls at a higher risk

of encountering drought-related violence at the water point (Nunbogu & Elliott, 2021).

CHIGUSIWA ET AL.179