Water and Gender Equality

Figure 1: An image showing a series of African women carrying water on their heads (Source: Women eNews Kenya 2011)

Water is essential to achieving gender equality. In recent years, gender equality has come into focus in global policy, for example, the United Nations (UN) is calling for gender equality by 2030. Further, in 2010, the UN recognised the human right to water and sanitation (UNDESA 2014). In Africa, many countries are codifying these rights. For example, in Malawi, the 2013 Water Resources Act and the Gender Equality Act recognise the right to water as well as gender equality (Hellum et al. 2015: 2). Despite an increased level of codification, many states fail to fulfil these rights for their residents. In 2017, 22% of Malawians did not have basic access to an improved water source within 30 minutes of the home (Cassivi 2020: 788).

As I explored in my previous blog, women disproportionately carry the burden of government failures in water provision. The gendered division of water labour means that, inherently, the right to water is a prerequisite for gender equality in all facets of life (Hellum et al. 2015: 3). This is because freeing up labour time through adequate water provisioning can have a ‘ripple effect’ for women’s empowerment by giving them time to go to school and participate in economic activities (Bah 1988: 98).

The importance of water to women’s rights extends beyond water collection. Water and sanitation are two highly entangled concepts. Water is a prerequisite for adequate sanitation facilities. Although significant improvements have been made in access to sanitation over the last 20 years (Figure 2), in 2017, 701 million people across the globe relied on unimproved sanitation facilities (WHO-UNICEF JMP 2019: 8). Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind the rest of the world in terms of coverage of basic sanitation services (Figure 3) and also experiences some of the highest rates of open defecation (Figure 4).

Figure 2: A chart showing global sanitation coverage (Source: JMP WHO-UNICEF 2019: 8)

Figure 3: A map showing global sanitation coverage (Source:JMP WHO-UNICEF 2019: 30)

Figure 4: A map showing rates of open defecation (Source: JMP WHO-UNICEF 2019: 14)

Women have unique sanitation needs, including, menstrual hygiene management, therefore, a lack of sanitation facilities disproportionately affects women (Corburn and Hildebrand 2015: 1). In Africa, many women lack access to safe and clean sanitation facilities (Figure 5).

 

Figure 5: A chart showing the proportion of girls using a sanitation facility to wash and change materials during their period according to access and quality of resources (Source: JMP WHO-UNICEF 2019: 42)

Without access to menstrual health management materials, a period can interfere with everyday activities. This is particularly relevant to education outcomes. One study in Zambia noted that the majority of those who drop out of school between grades 5 and 7 (the time when menstruation usually begins) without water or sanitation access at home were girls (Figure 6) (Agol and Harvey 2018: 289).

Figure 6: A chart showing drop out rates according to gender and grade (Source: Agol and Harvey 2018: 289).

This is opposed to ‘no significant gender difference’ amongst children with water and sanitation access at home (Agol and Harvey 2018: 289). Whilst this relationship is disputed on account of other factors that might be responsible for drop-out rates, such as participation in the economy, this study still presents a logical argument supported by statistically significant results.

Addressing barriers to women’s education is not only important to gender equality in terms of educational outcomes, but can also precipitate improvements in women’s quality of life more broadly. For example, increased women’s education has been proven to be linked reduced maternal mortality (Karlsen et al. 2011: 1).

Clearly, the provision of adequate water and sanitation facilities is essential to addressing women’s needs and achieving a gender equitable future in Africa.