Water access and gender

Water access and gender are intricately linked in many parts of the world today and also historically. Discrimination in access to water occurs along many lines, including gender. Women and girls are more likely to be expected to collect and provide water for their families in less developed countries. Men and women are affected differently by water crisis situations. The study of how water access and gender are related is part of Feminist political ecology (FPE). Dealing with inequalities of water access falls under international human rights law.

Women and water access

Woman collecting water in Kenya.
Woman collecting water in Kenya.

Around the world there are patterns of discrimination in relation to water access.[1] Around 1.1 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate water supplies.[2] In many places of the world, getting and providing water is considered "women's work," so gender and water access are intricately linked.[3] Also, because collecting water is often unpaid labor, women are more likely to be assigned to water collection.[4] Water gathering and supply to family units remains primarily a woman’s task in less developed countries where water gathering is considered a main chore.[3] This water work is also largely unpaid household work based on patriarchal gender norms and often related to domestic work, such as laundry, cooking and childcare.[5][6] Areas that rely on women to primarily collect water include countries in Africa, South Asia and in the Middle East.[7]

Many women in less developed countries must walk long distances to collect water.[8] Girls who must spend hours a day collecting water from natural sources often miss school.[2] Many walk miles to get to the water source and must wait in line for their turn to collect water.[2] Some women in Africa may spend eight hours a day both collecting and then treating the water.[9] In areas of Nairobi, women carry 44 pound containers of water back to their homes, taking anywhere between an hour and several hours to wait and collect the water.[10] Some of these women are unable to open their businesses because of the wait for collecting water.[11]

Women and girls who collect water may also face sexual assault along the way.[1]

In places like Nepal, not only are women and girls affected by water collection by it being their "job," but there are also restrictions for collecting water based on caste.[2] India also has a great deal of social stratification that not only affect water gathering, but also effect policies relating to government-managed water services.[12] When women are represented in the government, local women are more likely to participate in public meetings relating to water delivery.[13] In rural Bangladesh, women living in poverty are less likely to have a political voice regarding water access.[14] When inequalities to water access aren't properly addressed, governments end up providing a low level of service to their people.[15]

In addition, Water crises affect men and women differently in some areas, such as in rural Bangladesh.[16]

Men and water access

Beginning in the 19th century, water management, access, and technology was considered a masculine domain.[5]

Gender norms can negatively affect how men and women access water through such behavior expectations along gender lines--for example, when water collection is a woman’s chore, men who collect water may face discrimination for performing perceived women’s work.[17] Men rarely collect water in rural Bangladesh due to local ideas of masculinity.[18] On the other hand, the same norms often result in women being pressured to collect and use water in an efficient and timely manner, without the advantages of modern technology.[19] A study conducted in the Volta Region of Ghana found that men collected water only when their wives were not available.[20]

Boys and girls are able to more fully participate in school when there is improved access to water.[21]

Addressing inequalities in access

Feminist political ecology (FPE) seeks to question and inform understanding regarding how gender, and other social labels and classifiers, influence how people relate to and interact with the natural environment, including how people have access to water.[22][23] Gender becomes integrated into these environmentally-focused and development-oriented policies, projects, and programs through gender mainstreaming, which further encourages the convergence of women’s issues and gender equality with natural resource protection and development projects.[24]

Addressing inequalities in access to water is also considered a human rights issue in legal terms and in international human rights laws.[25][26] Equality in water access also means that governments and non-governmental organizations need to focus on the most disadvantaged and poorest members of the community.[27] The United Nations adopted a resolution in 2010 on the "Human Right to Water and Sanitation."[28]

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Winkler, Satterthwaite & De Albuquerque 2014, p. 557.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Moser, Anne (2009-01-01). "Women and Water: Marginalization, Hope and a Call to Action". Feminist Collections: A Quarterly of Women's Studies Resources – via HighBeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
  3. 1 2 Keefer & Bousalis 2015, p. 256.
  4. ↑ Strochlic, Nina (April 2017). "Water Collective". National Geographic. 231 (4): 24 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  5. 1 2 Bennet, Vivienne; Davila-Poblete, Sonia; Rico, Maria N. (2008). "Water and gender: the unexpected connection that really matters". Journal of International Affairs. 61 (2): 107–126.
  6. ↑ Koolwal & Van de Walle 2010, p. 5.
  7. ↑ Koolwal & Van de Walle 2010, p. 4.
  8. ↑ Keefer & Bousalis 2015, p. 261.
  9. ↑ McManus, Reed (November 2014). "One Woman at a Time". Sierra. 99 (6): 44 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  10. ↑ Crow & Odaba 2010, p. 733.
  11. ↑ Crow & Odaba 2010, p. 745.
  12. ↑ Deininger, Nag & Nagarajan 2011, p. 343.
  13. ↑ Deininger, Nag & Nagarajan 2011, p. 347.
  14. ↑ Sultana 2007, p. 498.
  15. ↑ Winkler, Satterthwaite & De Albuquerque 2014, p. 558.
  16. ↑ Sultana 2007, p. 494.
  17. ↑ CAP-NET; GWA (2006). "Why Gender Matters: a tutorial for water managers". Delft: CAP-NET International network for Capacity Building in Integrated Water Resources Management.
  18. ↑ Sultana 2007, p. 496.
  19. ↑ Krishnaraj, Maithreyi (2011). "Women and water: Issues of gender, caste, class and institutions". Economic and Political Weekly. 46 (18): 37–39.
  20. ↑ Arku, Frank S. (July 2010). "Time savings from easy access to clean water: Implications for rural men's and women's well-being". Progress In Development Studies. 10: 238 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  21. ↑ Koolwal & Van de Walle 2010, p. 24.
  22. ↑ Oberhauser, Ann M.; Fluri, Jennifer L.; Whitson, Risa; Mollett, Sharlene (2017). Feminist Spaces: Gender and Geography in a Global Context. Florence: Taylor and Francis.
  23. ↑ Ivens, Saskia (2008). "Does increased water access empower women?". Development. 51: 63–67.
  24. ↑ Dankelman, Irene (2010). Gender and Climate Change: An Introduction. New York: Taylor and Francis.
  25. ↑ Winkler, Satterthwaite & De Albuquerque 2014, p. 563.
  26. ↑ Winkler, Satterthwaite & De Albuquerque 2014, p. 567.
  27. ↑ Winkler, Satterthwaite & De Albuquerque 2014, p. 565.
  28. ↑ Winkler, Satterthwaite & De Albuquerque 2014, p. 566.

Sources

  • Crow, Ben; Odaba, Edmond (November 2010). "Access to Water in a Nairobi Slum: Women's Work and Institutional Learning" (PDF). Water International. 35 (6): 733–747.
  • Deininger, Klaus; Nag, Sharmistha; Nagarajan, H.K. (January 2011). "Political Reservations, Access to Water and Women Empowerment: Evidence from Indian Villages". Proceedings of the Northeast Business & Economics Association: 343–349 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Keefer, Natalie; Bousalis, Rina (January 2015). "How Do You Get Your Water? Structural Violence Pedagogy and Women's Access to Water". Social Studies. 106 (6): 256–263 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Koolwal, Gayatri; Van de Walle, Dominique (May 2010). Access to Water, Women's Work and Child Outcomes (PDF). The World Bank.
  • Sultana, Farhana (December 2007). "Water, Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink: Pani Politics (Water Politics) in Rural Bangladesh". International Feminist Journal of Politics. 9 (4): 494–502 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
  • Winkler, Inga T.; Satterthwaite, Margaret L.; De Albuquerque, Catarina (September 2014). "Treasuring What We Measure and Measuring What We Treasure: Post-2015 Monitoring for the Promotion of Equality in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Sector". Wisconsin International Law Journal. 32 (3): 547–594 – via EBSCOhost. (Subscription required (help)).
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