PhD thesis Title Page Final _Richard Juma - Victoria University ...

Appendix 5: Gender and the Division of Labour among the Turkana
Duties Women Men
Home management
and maintenance
roles
Roles in livestock
production
Roles in cultural
production
Non-pastoral
activities
• Fetching water for household use
• Preparing food and gathering wild
fruits for domestic consumption
• Fetching firewood
• Cleaning the compound and
construction of:
- animal kraals ((anok)
- Main house (akai)
- Children resting shelter (ekal)
- Sleeping and cooking area
(atabo)
• Watering the livestock other than cattle
(goats, donkeys and camels) by
scooping water from the wells into a
big calabash for the animals to drink
• Preparation for migration to new
locations
• Milking the stock and positioning it out
into different uses for the household
• Herding small stock (goats).
• Socialization: bring forth children and
nurturing them as they grow. Socialize
the children into the Turkana way of
life.
• Supervise young girls when dowry is
being paid, and later prepare them as
brides on their wedding days.
• Older women and even younger ones
make skin clothes for girls and married
women.
• Women prepare food and even sing
during rituals such as child-naming and
weddings
• Weaving of mats, baskets and hats
Source: (Wawire 2003: 1-3) and Field data (2006)
277
• Husband and father
• Decision making and
supervisory roles e.g. delegate
duties to women and children.
• Ensuring discipline in the
home
• Providing for the family
• Ensuring that the livestock get
pasture
• Exploring good grazing land
and water when the drought
sets in.
• Providing health services to
the animals in the form of
traditional herbs.
• Making decisions on the
slaughter and sale of animals
or when and where to migrate
• Providing security to animals
and household members.
• Organizing family meetings to
deliberate on matters relating
to the clan and family
• Socialization of boys into
adult roles in the Turkana
society. They teach young
boys the skills in herding (how
to locate and identify good
pasture/water source, herbs to
cure diseases infecting herd),
social adults skills of being a
good husband and father and
protecting the herd and the
family.
• Custodian of cultural values.
Men make all decisions related
to animal slaughter, migration,
marriage and dowry payment
and rituals and their
performance.
• Start small business activities
such as charcoal selling and
kiosk ownership