Water Access – A Root of Poverty, Violence and Vulnerability of Women
Water Access
A Root Cause of Poverty, Violence and Vulnerability for Women & Girls
Globally, of the 1.8 billion people who have no access to safe water, women and girls bear the greatest burden for its collection. According to UNWomen, on average, women and girls travel 6 km/3.7 miles taking up to two hours every day to collect and transport water to their home. Most women can only carry one large jerry can, each of which holds five gallons or 20 liters, weighing approximately 20 kg/42 lbs, which can cause physical pain or injury over time. This water must then serve an average of eight to ten people in a household daily for drinking, cooking, washing clothes and dishes, bathing, and house cleaning.
According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program for Water Supply and Sanitation, girls under 15 years of age are nearly twice as likely as boys the same age to be given the responsibility to collect water. Girls who are tasked with the collection of water in place of their mothers miss part of their school day. Overtime, they can fall behind and eventually drop out. Women who manage this task for their family give up hours of productivity that might have been spent other ways to enhance the family’s economic wellbeing. Water collection thus continues to perpetuate the vulnerability of women, undermining the economic and educational opportunities that may exist to advance their wellbeing.
Even more unfortunate is the violence inherent in the process of collection. Because it takes so many hours to reach and return with water, many women leave before dawn and travel in the dark to get to a water access point early. However, traveling alone through the dark also leaves women more susceptible to sexual assault. On the other hand, returning later than expected from collecting water is often a trigger for domestic violence. Pregnant women carrying heavy water jugs are more likely to suffer a miscarriage. Women who are blind, elderly, disabled or too sick to carry water on their own are more vulnerable to being sexually exploited for water delivery when they cannot afford to pay for the service.
Not only is the collection process racked with violence and exploitation, but the water itself is a source of harm, spreading dangerous water-borne diseases. Globally, diarrhea, along with pneumonia and malaria was responsible for 36 percent of deaths among children under five. And it is the lack of clean drinking water and proper hygiene and sanitation that are the primary causes of diarrhea. Safe water is also essential for reducing maternal and infant mortality rates.
“I used to spend all my time on water, but now I am concentrating on long-term growth.”
Resources:
Global Grassroots - Women, Water & Wisdom: Mapping Ripple Effects of Conscious Social Change
World Vision - Carrying water can be a pain in the neck
Sustainable Development Goals - How Girls Lose Time Collecting Water
The Global Health Observatory - Child Mortality / Causes of Death
UNICEF - Ending child deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea
World Bank Group’s Water Global Practice - Women in Water Utilities
World Health Organization & UN Water - Investing US$1 in WASH Delivers US$4.3 Return
