An introduction to women and water


When picturing water in Africa, the first image that appears in my mind are young girls and women carrying large buckets of water on their head. This is largely due to the influence of websites and pamphlets from charities portraying this very image when bringing attention to the water crises in Africa. So are women the main carriers of water? 

Majority of the time, yes “Women Carry Most of the World’s Water”, and this falls with the traditional responsibilities of women as the main water bearers in most African societies. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, women accounts for 56% of water collection, with female children at 31%, hence 87% of water bearers are actually female (Caruso, 2017). However, it is also these very girls and women who are disproportionately affected in securing access to safe and adequate water supply, especially the rural female.   

This inequity to water access lies in understanding the role of women in water collection, the different priorities for water usage between both genders and the legitimacy of women in the decision making process of water policies and programs. Where although there is an increasing participation of women in local water committees, they are often not permitted to have a say or invited, therefore women has limited power in the decision making process in the determination of water location and uses for water facilities, which exacerbates the disparity in water access.  

The dynamics of gender in relation to water access, water management and sanitation, will be the central themes explored in the upcoming posts.

Comments

  1. Richard taylorDecember 3, 2019 at 2:30 PM

    This is good start that nicely reconciles your pondering with some statistics from the peer-reviewed literature.

    ReplyDelete

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