Women as pioneers in the camel sector: A comprehensive review

Abstract

As camel production systems gain importance under climate change and dryland transformation, integrating gender equity into their development becomes both a justice imperative and a strategic necessity. Framed through the lens of a just transition, this article examines women's multidimensional contributions across camel-based livelihoods, dairy value chains, by-product industries, tourism and activities, and scientific research. Drawing on peer-reviewed and grey literature from diverse regions, the analysis highlights how gendered divisions of labor shape differentiated access to resources, decision-making power, and economic returns within pastoral and semi-commercial systems. Women play central roles in daily husbandry, milk production, processing, and marketing, often sustaining household nutrition and income while operating within constrained structural environments. Through women-led collective organizations, grassroots entrepreneurship, and enterprise leadership, they increasingly connect pastoral production to urban markets and global value chains. Their contributions extend beyond dairy into wool, leather, meat processing, ethical production initiatives, and eco-responsible enterprises that preserve cultural heritage while fostering innovation. In tourism, trekking, and training, women are gaining visibility in emerging service-oriented segments of the sector, though participation does not consistently translate into structural power. Women researchers have also advanced camel science in areas including milk quality, human health, reproduction, genetics, welfare, and biodiversity conservation, linking scientific innovation with community resilience and sustainable production. However, persistent barriers—limited access to land, capital, credit, institutional representation, and research leadership—constrain transformative empowerment outcomes. Collectively, the evidence positions women as central actors in advancing climate-adaptive, low-carbon, and socially inclusive camel economies. Yet empowerment remains conditional where high labor participation is not matched by control over assets and governance. Strengthening women's visibility, decision-making authority, and resource access is therefore critical to realizing a genuinely just transition in camel systems, aligning environmental sustainability, economic opportunity, and gender equity in dryland development.