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THEME:
While there are high numbers of female-headed households in rural
Botswana, they are no poorer than male-headed ones
A
1996 IFAD social assessment in Botswana notes that, in spite of
Botswana's rapid mineral-led growth, almost half of its population
is living in poverty. National poverty studies and statistics show
considerable income disparities and regional differences in poverty.
Poverty is both more prevalent and more severe in rural areas. A
study by the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis
(BIPSA) estimated that at least 62% of the poor or very poor lived
in rural areas. In all, 48% of rural households were estimated to
be poor or very poor. The most severe poverty is in the rural southwest
of Botswana (in Ghanzi and Kagalahadi Districts, and in western
parts of Kweneng and Ngwaketse), where most of the Basarwa and other
ethnic minorities live. Here some 71% of the population were found
to be poor, and 59% were classified as very poor. But the evidence
shows that, in rural areas, female-headed households (FHHs) are
no poorer than male-headed ones.
It
has been estimated that about 50-60% of households in rural Botswana
are female headed. The evidence suggests that this might be
a slight overestimation.
- In villages (defined officially as having a minimum
population of 500) fully half or more of the households are estimated
to be female headed (in some villages, 65%). Ethnically, villages are
usually more mixed than the Remote Area Dweller (RAD) settlements, and
have a lower percentage of hunter-gatherer populations than do the settlements
or the cattle posts. However, very poor Basarwa sometimes live on the
fringes of such villages. In terms of quality of life, populations here
tend to be better off than in RAD settlements or cattle posts. Most
village households have at least one cash-earning member, both in male
and female-headed households. But the income may be seasonal or erratic.
- In Remote Area Dweller settlements, where the very poor Basarwa
and other ethnic minorities live, the IFAD assessment found FHHs to
account for anywhere between 25% and 40% of households. This figure
is lower than that for villages. However, statistics are very unreliable
and fluctuate seasonally. A large proportion of FHHs here are temporarily
female headed owing to male out-migration in search of employment or
the breakup of the household due to food shortages, where some family
members leave to go further into the bush to search for veld foods,
which are depleted around the settlement. Or, because men have gone
on extended hunting trips, away from the settlements, where opportunities
are better, and there is less government control of hunting.
- Some designated female-headed households are composed of a
widowed mother living with her married son and his family. In such instances,
the married son will often designate his mother as head of the household
out of respect. This does not mean that she has major decision-making
power. This finding may account for why many female-headed households
in Botswana are also found to be larger than might be expected.
- Poverty among FHHs is shown to be higher in urban areas, but not in
rural. Nationwide, studies have shown that female-headed households
are poorer than male-headed ones. Fully 50% of FHHs are poor or
very poor, compared with 44% of male-headed households. Studies also
show that between 1985/86 and 1993/94, the situation of FFHs improved
less than that of male-headed households. However, In rural areas,
both male and female-headed households experience the same poverty rate.
This can be explained partly by the fact that many of the FHHs are de
facto, and often seasonal, FHHs. Men and boys from such households may
be away working or hunting.
Development initiatives in rural Botswana should not
immediately assume that female-headed households are poorer than male-headed
ones. However, such households are not likely to be richer either, and
if they are de jure female headed, they will have a harder time escaping
hunger and poverty, although the reverse may be true in the RAD settlements.
The designation of a FHH may cover several different types of households.
Adapted from:
Heli Perrett. 1996. Botswana: Community Development of Wildlife Management
Areas Project: Social Assessment. Rome: IFAD, December.
All other references are as noted in this study.
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