Women and Water: How Women Bear the Brunt of Water Inequality

By Phillip Maxson

Abstract:

This paper examines the interconnected aspects of sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) and water scarcity in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this region, women have often been tasked with gathering water in areas without residential water access. The gendered assignment of this task is brought about by hegemonic patriarchal ideas about women's role as gatherers. The role of water gatherers places women at increased risk for SGBV as they must walk long distances in the dark with little lighting, as well as an increased risk of intimate partner violence.

Introduction:

Women have historically been reduced to the roles of mother, provider, and gatherer and limited to domestic labor. This gendered hierarchy has often had negative impacts on the livelihoods of women through decreasing access to education and healthcare. The effects of this gendered hierarchy are becoming increasingly relevant to the study of climate change and water scarcity. This piece explores the existing literature surrounding the issue of water scarcity in Sub-Saharan African countries to better understand the effect it will have on women in the role of “Water Gatherer.” In many cases, women have indeed been cast as “gatherers” and, in countries with little access to domestic water sources, are often tasked with locating a public water source, collecting that water, and bringing it back home for use in cooking or cleaning. Their role as water collectors often puts these women at increased risk for health issues and assaults. Additionally, as climate change worsens, so will water scarcity, putting women at increased risk as they will have to travel further distances for water. 

Climate Change and Water Security

As of 2016, out of 24 tested sub-Saharan African countries, fourteen had “between 50-75% of households lacking water on their premises” (Graham et al., 2016). Instead, this water must be gathered from public standpipes with access to groundwater, public wells, protected springs, or surface water (Assessing Access to Water & Sanitation, 2022). These water sources are at risk of becoming unreliable due to increased droughts and consumption, imposing "additional pressure on already scarce water resources" (State of Climate in Africa Highlights Water Stress and Hazards, 2023). Climate change creates temperature patterns that have contributed significantly to increasing droughts in Sub-Saharan Africa, which lead to serious negative psychological and physical health effects on populations and communities. 

As water scarcity increases, quality of life and overall health decrease. Less water means less livestock production (Rankoana, 2020), which worsens already existing food insecurity (Young et al., 2023). Water scarcity also limits proper physical hygiene, which can spread disease and illness within communities and disrupt local traditions by putting undue stress on community and cultural practices through decreased agricultural output (Rankoana, 2020). 

Gendered Discourses: 

The effects of increasing water scarcity will differ significantly between genders, as women will often bear the brunt of water insecurity. Women must walk long distances to gather water for sanitation or even just gain access to a public toilet. Previous literature has shown that, when households spend more than 30 minutes on water collection, “adult females were the primary collectors of water across all 24 [sampled] countries” and that women and girls were the primary water collectors in 8/10 households no matter the distance traveled (Graham et al., 2016). It is expected that women across the globe will spend “a collective 200 million hours every day collecting water” (Women and Water - a Woman’s Crisis | Water.org, n.d.). 

Water collection is far from an easy task and entails numerous social and physical consequences for the women who undertake it. Among the most impactful but rarely spoken of is lost time due to water collection. Women and girls spend upwards of 30 minutes a trip to gather water, which is expected to increase as climate change dries up existing water sources. Water collection is not a one-time activity, however, and many women must leave to gather water several times a day. This lost time adds up, resulting in women being unable to complete other tasks expected of them, such as cleaning the home, caring for children, or cooking. Many women also must travel to access a public toilet, adding up to “266 million collective hours lost a day” across the world (Women and Water - a Woman’s Crisis | Water.org, n.d.). Those incomplete tasks can increase the risk of inter-partner violence and contribute to the violence experienced by women water gatherers (Bachwenkizi et al., 2023b)

Collecting water also poses major safety risks for women, as they often travel at night to decrease heat exposure, which exposes women to an increased risk of sexual gender-based violence (SGBV), injuries, and domestic violence, especially for women and girls who must travel multiple times a day (Logie et al., 2022). Water Aid, an international NGO focused on water, sanitation, and hygiene, claims that:

“When women don’t have access to a toilet they are forced to go outside. This can mean traveling long distances and often at night to retain some privacy and dignity under the cover of darkness. This can increase the risk of harassment, sexual violence, and even rape. Whilst the taboo nature of rape means that it is difficult to know the full extent of this tragic problem, programs and studies show that this is a very real issue that must be addressed.”

(We Can’t Wait: A Report on Sanitation and Hygiene for Women and Girls | WASH Matters, n.d.)

The possibility of assault creates an air of danger surrounding even the idea of gathering water and using the restroom. Studies have found that there is a 15-minute “assault risk exposure time” on average for women gathering water, and this exposure results in 635 sexual assaults a year (Gonsalves et al., 2015) due to a lack of safety infrastructure and adequate lighting, as well as easily accessible hiding places. Even if women do not directly experience this violence, the stress created by the risks of traveling at night has negative impacts on women's health.

This example fits into a framework that scholars call the “water-gender-health nexus.” This nexus details the relationship between sexual gender-based violence and how water is connected to gender equality and the health of people. To understand this nexus, scholars have broken it into three contexts: relational, material, and symbolic. Relational and symbolic contexts represent the hegemonic idea of women being “inferior” or “less than.” In this case, women must act as water collectors because they are “less powerful than men.” However, this alone is not responsible for the myriad of health issues women face when they gather water. If it were not for the material context of low light levels, long distances to water sources, and hiding places, women would not be at as high a risk of experiencing violence (Logie et al., 2022).

Potential Solutions:

Solving the issue of water-related sexual gender-based violence is much easier said than done. While the idea of dismantling patriarchal hegemony and increasing the number of public water sources and their visibility may seem like a straightforward solution, its realization will likely be a gradual process. However, strengthening WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) systems could be a good first step. Currently, WASH has very few government or private investments, which is one of the “greatest barriers to achieving WASH-related targets” (Strengthening Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Systems, n.d.). Encouraging government and private investors to engage with WASH infrastructure and funding could be promising for reducing water-related SGBV. Regardless of government or private strategy, it is clear that the gender-based impact of water scarcity is an issue that must be addressed.

References:

Assessing access to water & sanitation. (2022, March 24). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/assessing.html

Bachwenkizi, J., Mohamed, H., Funsan, P., et al. (2023). Access to water sources and intimate partner violence against women in 26 Sub-Saharan African countries. Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances, 7, 100063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heha.2023.100063

Gonsalves, G., Kaplan, E. H., & Paltiel, A. D. (2015). Reducing sexual violence by increasing the supply of toilets in Khayelitsha, South Africa: a mathematical model. PLOS ONE, 10(4), e0122244. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0122244

Graham, J. P., Hirai, M., & Kim, S. S. (2016). An Analysis of Water Collection Labor among Women and Children in 24 Sub-Saharan African Countries. PLOS ONE, 11(6), e0155981. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0155981

Hassfurter, K. (2020, January 8). Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 update and SDG baselines - UNICEF DATA. UNICEF DATA. https://data.unicef.org/resources/progress-drinking-water-sanitation-hygiene-2017-update-sdg-baselines/

Logie, C. H., Okumu, M., Coelho, M., et al.(2022). Water insecurity and sexual and gender-based violence among refugee youth: qualitative insights from a humanitarian setting in Uganda. Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 12(12), 883–893. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2022.236

Rankoana, S. A. (2020). Climate change impacts on water resources in a rural community in Limpopo province, South Africa: a community-based adaptation to water insecurity. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 12(5), 587–598. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm-04-2020-0033

State of Climate in Africa highlights water stress and hazards. (2023, February 10). World Meteorological Organization. https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/state-of-climate-africa-highlights-water-stress-and-hazards

Strengthening water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems. (n.d.). UNICEF. https://www.unicef.org/wash/strengthening-systems

We can’t wait: A report on sanitation and hygiene for women and girls | WASH Matters. (n.d.). https://washmatters.wateraid.org/publications/we-cant-wait-a-report-on-sanitation-and-hygiene-for-women-and-girls#:~:text=We%20Can't%20Wait%20makes,first%20official%20World%20Toilet%20Day.

Women And Water - A Woman’s Crisis | Water.org. (n.d.). Water.org. https://water.org/our-impact/water-crisis/womens-crisis/

Young, S. L., Bethancourt, H. J., Frongillo, E. A., et al. (2023). Concurrence of water and food insecurities, 25 low- and middle-income countries. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 101(02), 90–101. https://doi.org/10.2471/blt.22.288771