Effects of Drought on Livelihoods and Gender Roles: A Case Study of Meghalaya

This resource presents a quantitative and qualitative study across 10 villages in the West and South Garo Hills districts of Meghalaya, drawing on a sample of 300 households from the Garo tribe. It examines how extreme climate variability (droughts) affects livelihoods and gender roles in a matrilineal tribal society. The study finds that drought severely reduces household income across all sources (rice, vegetables, livestock, and fisheries) with women absorbing the heaviest workload. Women often have to walk 4–5 kilometres for water, spend more time on fuel and fodder collection, and increasingly take up off-farm labour. Rice that normally lasts five months drops to three during drought, with more women (79 percent) than men (70 percent) reporting food insufficiency. Women express strong interest in training on water management, pest control, and livestock breeds—areas where they are more concerned than men. This resource documents how even within a matrilineal society where women have land rights and decision-making capabilities, structural gender inequalities persist in both workload and health. Land rights alone do not guarantee gender-equitable adaptation and there is a need for gender-sensitive drought interventions.