Gender differences in time and energy costs of distance for regular domestic chores in rural Zimbabwe: A case study in the Chiduku communal area

Abstract

Rural women spend excessive time and energy costs of distance to carry out routine domestic chores. The drain these chores have caused on daily time and energy budgets has adversely affected nutritional needs and health maintenance in most rural settings of sub-Saharan Africa. Survey results in a rural study site in Zimbabwe based on selecting and quantifying routine trip generating chores indicate that such trips, often with head or back loads, make heavy demands on time and energy particularly of female members of the household. As women's labor is critical in agriculture in Zimbabwe, the opportunity cost of time and energy used up in trips has significant implications not only for household food production but also for overall welfare of the household.