Gender Dimensions of Food Security among Households in Rural Eswatini

The purpose of the paper is to examine gender iniquity in food insecurity among rural households (male- and female-headed) in Eswatini (Swaziland). Promoting gender equality to improve food security in developing countries is important for inclusive development. However, studies focusing on gender issues in Eswatini are very few, hence the need for this study. The paper used data from the Eswatini Household Income and Expenditure Survey (EHIES) of 2016 and 2017 with a sample of 2543 rural households. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were employed as analytical methods to generate results on households’ socioeconomic characteristics and the determinants of food security. Findings indicate that some socioeconomic differences exist between female and male-headed households. While more men are employed in the formal sector, women are more self-employed than men. Women head of households are relatively older and have larger families than men head of households. These gender differences expose women more to food insecurity than men. About 65% of these households were food insecure, with 55% of them being female-headed. Some of the determinants of food insecurity among male-headed households include marital status, household size, and non-food expenditure, while those for female-headed households are household size and non-food expenditure. The implication of the findings is that women are generally more vulnerable and poorer than men in the study area. In order to reduce food insecurity among female-headed households, women need to be more empowered through education and income-earning opportunities to feed their large families and meet other non-food obligations. This paper unravels the importance of gender and how this should be considered in designing welfare programs as men and women will be impacted differently. Thus, more studies need to be conducted on key drivers of food security outside the demographic characteristics of respondents. Keywords: Eswatini, food security, gender, rural household, welfare. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.61.10