“When women’s and girls’ bodies serve as the infrastructure that supports the supply of water to households, their chance of experiencing adverse physical and mental health outcomes grows”
[UN Women,FROM COMMODITY TO COMMON GOOD: A FEMINIST AGENDA TO TACKLE THE WORLD’S WATER CRISIS pp.32]
The link between clean water and the empowerment of women is profound. Worldwide, women and girls spend an estimated 200 million hours collecting water. When this barrier is removed, the impact is transformative—school attendance for young girls increases by 15%. Clean water is not just about hygiene; it is intrinsically tied to the economic and social progress of women and girls.
In the face of the global water crisis, a feminist lens unveils the pivotal role women play as the primary stewards, collectors, and managers of water in their communities. This approach asserts the urgency of women's equal representation in leadership and decision-making, emphasizing their crucial perspectives in ecologically responsible water governance, including the "rights of Nature" approach.
The significance of water accessibility becomes stark when considering that women and girls are typically the primary users and providers of water in households. Target 6.2 of the SDG explicitly recognizes "the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations." Yet, shockingly, over 800,000 women lose their lives annually due to insufficient access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene. Disturbingly, facilities for menstrual hygiene management remain inadequate for approximately 500 million women and girls.
Alongside the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the demand for water, as hygiene became paramount. Women without safe water on premises were compelled to collect from shared sources, heightening their vulnerability to the virus. Access to shared sanitation facilities, typically navigated in groups to mitigate gender-based violence risks, became severely restricted during the pandemic.
Clean water is integral to various aspects of women's lives, the resource relates to bathing, drinking, cooking, breastfeeding, pregnancy, and childbirth. Sustainable access to clean water and sanitation underpins the economic and social progress of women and girls. Yet, among 51 countries, women and adolescent girls in the poorest households and those with disabilities face a critical lack of private spaces for personal hygiene.
The toll of water insecurity on women is not merely a developing world issue. Environmental, social, and governance implications extend globally. Failures in the water system disproportionately affect women, making sustainable water and sanitation systems vital for their health and well-being.
The impact of climate change further compounds the challenges, with natural disasters disproportionately affecting women, children, the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. Women in many regions bear the brunt of water collection, intensifying during droughts, while in Europe, women are more likely to reside in flood zones, the regions most acutely affected by climate change.
Clean water is not just a basic need; it is the catalyst for hope, health, and opportunity for women worldwide. Addressing women's water insecurity is not just a humanitarian imperative; it is a crucial step toward achieving global equity, sustainability, and resilience. In the pursuit of sustainable water solutions, transparency and accessibility to data become critical. Understanding the nuanced challenges faced by women is fundamental to crafting effective policies and interventions.
The report (https://unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/from-commodity-to-common-good-a-feminist-agenda-to-tackle-the-worlds-water-crisis-en.pdf) by UN Women provides a comprehensive look at a feminist agenda to tackle the world's water crisis, emphasizing the importance of incorporating women's perspectives into ecologically responsible water governance.
Sources:
- Charity Water. https://www.charitywater.org/stories/women-and-water
-World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/06-07-2023-women-and-girls-bear-brunt-of-water-and-sanitation-crisis---new-unicef-who-report
- Council on Foreign Relations. https://cfr.org/blog/womens-water-insecurity-global-health-crisis
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