When Insecurity Shatters Women's Economic Activity: Women's Petty Trade in Dédougou under the Strain of Terrorism (Burkina Faso)

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of the security crisis linked to terrorism on women's small businesses in Dédougou, a town in the Boucle du Mouhoun region (Burkina Faso), which has become a centre for internally displaced people. A mixed approach combining a questionnaire administered to 130 traders and 40 semi-structured interviews with various stakeholders (shopkeepers, customers, town hall, NGOs, chambers of commerce) was used. Terrorism disrupts supply circuits, causes price inflation (a bag of onions going from 15,000 to 60,000 FCFA), reduces the customer base by 70.66% and saturates the urban market. 71.54% of traders say they are dissatisfied with their income. Faced with these challenges, they develop resilience strategies by organizing tontines, carrying out multiple activities, taking out interpersonal loans and turning to family support. The crisis aggravates the vulnerability of women in the informal sector, with 73% of respondents claiming that they do not receive institutional support, revealing deep structural gaps in public support systems.