Women in pastoral production

Abstract

This concluding article aims to review, on a general level, some of the issues relating to the place of women in pastoral production. It begins by a discussion of the extent to which “pastoralism” as such is a valid point of departure for analysis and then proceeds to look at the pastoral working process from the perspective of females. It is argued that a proper understanding of pastoral productive relations must be based on a recognition of the dual nature of productivity—in terms of utilities and in terms of herd generation. The complex intertwining of different labour inputs leaves room for the cultural underevaluation of women's work. Female rights to livestock and the access that women have to other resources that can give them bargaining power are then discussed. The article ends with a consideration of the direction of present changes in the lives of pastoral women.