This study explores questions around women, water and gendered power relations in Maasai and Samburu counties of Nothern Kenya. It looks at both water-secure and water-insecure communities. The study is based on the premise that one way that women in patriarchal pastoralist communities are disempowered in relation to men in through the gendered dynamics of domestic and livestock water security. It anticipated that the poor performance of local water security initiatives would be shown to be a factor in women’s relative disempowerment.
The study looks specifically at gender roles and responsibilities in relation to domestic water sources and domestic water security. It tries to discern any significant differences between the experiences of women who are members of organised groups (for example, income-generating and savings groups) and those who are not.
