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

Climate change–induced extreme weather events such as drought have occurred with increasing frequency and intensity in Zimbabwe over the past 30 years bringing about pressure on communally owned water resources. Using the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment 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 selection bias. Using the doubly robust inverse probability weighted regression adjustment to account for confounding, 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 household 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 households where the water-fetcher is a woman or girl. The results suggest that the impact of drought shocks on water point violence is gendered and disadvantages women and girls more than men and boys.     

农村妇女土地权益保护的困境与对策探析

研究目的：探寻完善农村妇女土地权益保护制度不足的途径。研究方法：社会调查法，逻辑分析法。研究结果：在出嫁、离婚等涉及农村妇女的集体成员身份变动时，其土地权益难以得到充分保护，丧偶妇女（未改嫁）则因成员身份不发生变动，其土地权益的保护状况较好，故农村妇女土地权益未受到充分保护的根源在于集体土地所有权主体制度的缺陷。研究结论：针对集体土地所有权主体制度的不足进行股份合作社改造，是解决农村妇女土地权益保护问题的重要途径。