ActionAid has called for urgent action to protect young women in Southern Africa, warning that the region’s ongoing El Niño-induced drought is disproportionately affecting them.
The organisation launched a policy brief ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Ordinary Summit, urging leaders to prioritise gender equality and women’s empowerment in their drought response efforts.
The Southern African region experienced drought during the 2023/24 farming season that has left an estimated 56.8 million people food insecure.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, this is the worst drought the region has seen in 100 years.
People are enduring staggering levels of food insecurity, acute malnutrition, water scarcity and disease outbreaks.
ActionAid’s policy brief titled Mitigating Protection Risks for Young Women in Southern Africa: Policy Responses to Drought-Induced Crises highlighted the urgent need for targeted interventions to protect and empower young women in the region.
The brief revealed how the drought has disproportionately affected young women and girls, exacerbating existing inequalities.
As food insecurity, economic hardship, and social instability escalate, young women are facing heightened risks of violence, exploitation, and marginalisation.
“All my savings have been used to buy food – we sleep on empty stomachs sometimes due to lack of food. A lot of the boreholes have dried up, we must walk very long distances to find water,” said Joan* a 29-year-old woman from Zambia.
The drought has hampered the economic opportunities of many farming communities, resulting in families failing to cope and adopting negative survival strategies such as pushing girls into early and forced marriages.
“We have left everything in God’s hands to intervene,” said Emily* a 19-year-old girl from Siamuluwa village in Zambia.
“The drought is significantly impacting young women and girls, who are often married off to secure food resources. In many cases, these girls are also expected to rely on their husbands for food and all basic needs which may also make them vulnerable to gender-based violence. All the efforts that we have been putting into keeping girls in school are falling down the drain,” she added.
A farmer with her crops destroyed by the heat in Mozambique. WFP/Gabriela-Vivacqua
Additionally, the brief reveals how the increased burden of unpaid care work, coupled with reduced access to essential services and support is leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and gender-based violence.
“Young people cannot get drought relief, and we are not getting any help from the government. If the situation remains like this how will the young women survive?” said Nyaradzo a 24-year-old young woman from Zimbabwe.
The brief calls for immediate action from policymakers to address migration and displacement, gender-based violence, health and nutrition and educational disruption during crises.
Precious Kadwala, 24, from Nsanje district in Malawi, said:
“It’s high time you (leaders) put the welfare of people first before thinking of profits. Reassess financial priorities and practices to ensure that the welfare of the people is not overshadowed by profit motives.”
ActionAid called on the SADC leaders to domesticate, adhere to, monitor and report on agreed gender equality and women’s empowerment principles and provisions to guarantee the protection of young women and girls from crises such as drought.
Joy Mabenge, the Country Director of ActionAid Zimbabwe, said authorities must prioritise providing flexible funding for women-led community protection initiatives.
“The prevailing situation in the region demands a comprehensive gender analysis on the impact of the drought on women and girls, which is crucial to ensure that governments’ interventions do not miss the mark,” Mabenge said.
*not real name
