Women's struggle of Famine

 Mahlet Dalu

12/3/13

WST 250

Women's Struggle of Famine

The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in the Eastern area of the African continent, encompasses a geographical region of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. The regional diversity in the Horn of Africa is the variety of languages, religion, and food. Now, the Horn of Africa consists of the largest and smallest countries in Africa with nearly 112 million people. Yet, a year after the worst drought in 60 years left 13.3 million people in the Horn of Africa into crisis, resulting, famine. This crisis has caused women in the Horn of Africa to face high risks of sexual violence, abduction, illness and even death.  

     Famine is the “triple threat” of food production, people’s ability to access food and, finally and most crucially in the political response by governments and international donors (Oxfam). Shockingly, women bear specific burdens in crisis zones. Their responsibility for sustaining families is increased, but the resources available to meet those needs are diminished (Seager).

     However, the famine spreading in the Horn of Africa has left women more vulnerable to sexual violence. For sexual predators, famine and the resulting vulnerability equals opportunity, even in refugee camps with the heavy presence of international aid organizations and the United Nations. A recent United Nations assessment in the refugee camps indicates that the majority of families in the camp are female-headed households, and reported cases of rape have quadrupled with the famine (The Guardians). This signifies the unimaginable reality women face within the Horn of Africa, predominantly in Somalia.  The crisis in the Horn of Africa is, in many ways, a woman’s famine. The women are placed in controlled camps, facing alone what aid workers describe as “the extreme vulnerability of displacement and loss of livelihoods” (The Guardians).  If a victim of rape dares to complain, she is accused of promiscuity or “speaking against the brotherhood,” both crimes are punishable by beheading or stoning.

     The women frequently face the daily battle for survival without husbands or male providers, who have died, left with the group or simply abandoned their families. Women travel hundreds of kilometers with their children. From the beginning, women are over-represented in the agriculture industry, self-employment and the informal economy. Their greater dependence on raw materials and livestock makes them especially vulnerable in natural disasters. Women are also the primary caretakers in the household. When the Horn of Africa drought hit, they faced additional pressure to survive as unlike the men they lacked the liberty of migrating in search of work and to mobilize resources for rehabilitation (Think Africa Press).  

     For young girls, the strain could result in a vicious cycle of their increasing lack in education. Debo Dida a ten year old girl who had to walk about 12 kilometers twice a day carrying 15 liters of water after the drought dried up the small pond in her village. She says she found it difficult to go to school when helping her mother fetch water and survive, leading her decision to drop out (Think African Press). 

    As households struggle with malnutrition, hungry mothers lack breast milk to feed their babies. In Somalia, parents resort to feeding their children with maize, beans and black tea, often the only food accessible. Most of the children are too young to be eating solid food.  When the situation becomes too critical, many are forced to relocate their families and head to refugee camps. According to CARE international, since January 2011 in the refugee camps approximately 70% of refugees are in women-headed households (Think Africa Press).

      Furthermore, the dangerous journey to safety has been a struggle for women and girls; they face high risks of sexual violence, abduction, illness and even death. However, where services, including essential ones like medication, are provided by male practitioners, women may not be able to access them for cultural restrictions. Sadly, many among the refugees are mothers who find themselves abandoning their children who are too weak to survive or unable to continue the long voyage. New arrivals often are forced to settle scattered on the borders of full camps, generally far from services like clinics, water sites or toilets. Women who have undergone the trauma of rape during the route to the camps frequently do not report it and abstain from counseling and other helpful resources for fear of being unnoticed by other refugees. In fact, the community is blaming the women who are raped. The aftermath is unbearable for women to comprehend which to extent leads them to suicide, as they have been unwanted by their families and relatives.  

According to the United Nations, 87 incidents of sexual violence in the camps have been reported, but the data is inexact as not all abuse or rape gets reported. The number of patients exceeding medical facility capacity is one problem but there have been cases of women refusing to be admitted to the inpatient facility as they have children who will be left uncared for. Similarly, women frequently do not eat they share their aid food to feed children and the elderly first. According to Action Aid, women have resorted to a severe practice to handle their hunger: stomach binding. They tie bits of rope or cloth around their stomach to reduce the urgency of hunger but expose themselves to health complications. “The role of the women in the home and in the community compels them to put others’ needs first even at their own expense” (Samba).

      According to the United Nations, eliminating hunger in Africa by 2025 is possible; if Africa’s leaders support it, promote improved crop production, and healthy eating can lead to an achievement. Political willpower and leadership is essential because improving food security involves improvements not only in agriculture but in nutrition, health, water supplies and storage facilities. Even though, crop failure and poverty leave people vulnerable to starvation—but famine only occurs with political failure (Oxfam).

          Luckily, there are organizations and campaigns promoting to end famine in many ways including, Oxfam an organization that focuses on the concern provision of food to relieve famine, and over the years the organization has developed tactics to fight the causes of famine. In addition to food and medicine, Oxfam also provides tools to enable people to become self-sufficient and opens markets of international trade where crafts and produce from poorer regions of the world can be sold at a fair price to benefit the producer. Also, the Help Women Feed the World campaign helps women grow crops to nourish their families than burying their children or risking rape to receive their daily food. By investing in women farmers that can help them feed themselves, their families and the world. 

        Horn of Africa is a region that has been in extreme crisis, interfered by wars, revolutions, ethnic conflicts, famine, and economic collapse. Millions of people are continuing to struggle for survival. The global population of refugees is estimated at 35 and 45 million, rendering it as a food security catastrophe. Greatly, the inheritance of these issues affects women’s lives currently, but more importantly it is alarming knowing that women are continuing to suffer from unbearable challenges. Fortunately, there are helpful organizations helping women produce crops and most importantly ending the causes of famine, entirely.  

Works Cited:

Seager, Joni. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World. 4th ed. New York: Penguin Books, 2009. Print.

 "Famine: causes and solutions." Oxfam International. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://oxfam.org/en/emergencies/east-africa-food-crisis/famine-somalia-what-needs-to-be-done. 

"Horn of Africa: More Than Victims." Think Africa Press. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. http://thinkafricapress.com/gender/more-victims-horn-africa.

Shannon, Lisa. "The Rape of Somalia's Women is Being Ignored." http://theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 11 Oct. 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.

"Women and the Horn of Africa: The Suffering and the Solution." Women and the Horn of Africa. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.http://www.care2.com/causes/women-and-the-horn-of-africa-the-suffering-and-the-solution.html