In Marsabit County, society is patriarchal, with men controlling pastoral resources while women are relegated to tasks such as fetching water, gathering firewood, and nurturing children. These roles, dictated by cultural and traditional norms, severely limit women’s social, economic, cultural, and political participation. Despite the critical importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment for sustainable development, pastoralist women in Marsabit continue to experience profound discrimination and inequality.

Pastoralist women in Marsabit County have low social status, limited literacy, and restricted roles in public life, including limited ownership of livestock—the main store of wealth in pastoral economies. These women face various forms of subordination that hinder their development, including limited access to education and training, restricted mobility, child marriage, and harmful traditional practices such as polygamy, wife sharing, FGM, and the payment of bride prices, which perpetuate the perception of women as property.

Women in Marsabit County, like many globally, bear a disproportionate burden of poverty. They are more likely than men to be poor and at risk of violence due to systematic discrimination in education, healthcare, employment, and asset control. Poverty exacerbates their vulnerability to violence and exclusion from decision-making processes.