According to the widows, the death of their husbands coupled with children’s schooling reduces their productivities on the farms because they have limited labor to assist with the farm work.
Another source of gender-based vulnerability that emerged was an unproductive use of pooled household income. Men have been fingered for misusing income for household provision. The female FGD discussants accused men of squandering household money on alcohol and girlfriends. ‘Most men spend the household income on their girlfriends and alcohol. My husband left the house for days and he was seen having fun with a young woman in one of the bars’.
The female FGD participants explained that men spend more time outside the domestic space.
Physical harm perpetrated on women within marital relation; consensual union emerged as a critical social concern for the women. Respondents indicated beating as the most common violence exerted against women. Research participants noted that violence against women resulting from the following activities might be justified within their context: going out to visit friends without husband’s approval and arguing with husbands. The respondents expressed that it is traditionally fair for husbands to discipline (beat) their wives. However, the men were fingered for instigating violence against women through promiscuity and alcohol abuse. The analysis also revealed that during the lean season, the men tend to be more violent because they were broke. A 26-year old married woman shared her experiences:
He[husband] becomes agitated when you ask him housekeeping money or grains during the lean season. As a result, I usually accept whatever he says during this period.
Finally, childbearing appeared as another source of social vulnerability. While interviewing respondents in households, it became clear that women were responsible for bearing children not only for their sake but for their spouses. The FGDs revealed that married women were primarily blamed for infertility. According to the respondents, childbearing is the responsibility of a married woman. Thus, a married woman who does not bear a child is not fit to be called a mother. Married women considered infertile suffer divorce and abandonment from their husbands. For instance, a 61-year old woman noted that:
Children are assets for farm work, and if you do not bear a child, your husband has the right to get a woman who can bear children.
The women interviewed have internalized the view that it is their responsibility to produce children. Moreover, if they cannot perform this role, they mainly blame evil spirits for causing their infertility.