Water scarcity is an injustice wherever it exists. But it’s also a gender inequality issue that profoundly impacts women and girls across the globe. From the hours of onerous physical work involved in collecting water for the household, to the danger and indignity that can come with not having access to a private, safe toilet, women and girls bear the brunt of the world’s water and sanitation challenges.
Here are three key ways in which water scarcity is a gender inequality issue
According to a joint report by WHO and UNICEF1, women are most likely to be responsible for fetching water for households, while girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to bear the responsibility.
Pansu, a mum from Sindh Province in Pakistan, where our partner, the Diocese of Hyderabad, is working, shares her experience:
“After long hours of labour, I would return home in the evening only to find no water. My children and I would then walk two kilometres to fetch water from a pond.”
Pansu knows the sting of humiliation, and the sense of anxiety that comes with not having access to something as simple as a toilet. She lives in Pakistan, one of the world’s most water-stressed countries, where three quarters of people lack access to safely managed sanitation services.
“Previously, I had to defecate in the open fields and would wake up very early to avoid being seen by men. It was scary and humiliating, especially when people from the village or other communities passed by. We women often went together for safety from snakes, scorpions or stray dogs …”.
Because of the long journey to collect water, girls and women are losing time in education, work and leisure.
It holds women back from activities that could generate an income for their families, or connect them with other women for mutual support and encouragement. It means that girls and women can’t participate fully in their communities, and live the lives of flourishing that God intended for them.
Pansu reflects on the positive impact the water project has had on her children’s education:
“Before, my children couldn’t go to school because they were busy fetching water, collecting firewood or helping us in the fields. But now, with basic facilities in place, we think about their future. For the past three years, all my children have been attending school.”
How our partners are tackling this gender injustice
Tearfund’s Christian partners, including the Diocese of Hyderabad in Pakistan, are working with communities to tackle this gender injustice.
Through water and sanitation projects, including construction of boreholes for a supply of safe water and awareness-raising about the importance of handwashing, they’re changing water for communities like Pansu’s.
Beyond water and sanitation, the Diocese of Hyderabad, is taking a holistic, multidimensional approach in its work with communities in order to tackle the root causes of poverty.
Maternal health care, savings and self-help groups and training and resourcing so they can work and earn an income are all ways that our partner is empowering women in these communities.
This project has helped me realise my worth and rights. My daughters and all the women in the village now feel safer and healthier.
Pansu’s story: Change water. Change lives for women and girls
Watch as Pansu takes us into her world, sharing her story of the hardships she and her family have faced, and how a supply of clean, safe water has turned life around for them and others in their village.
Change water. Change lives.
Water scarcity, drought and poor sanitation are pushing people deeper into poverty, putting lives, health and development at risk. Here’s my gift to change water and help transform lives:
1 Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: special focus on gender, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme For Water Supply, Sanitation And Hygiene
Related projects have received support from the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).
