Water Insecurity & Gender Disparity
Collectively, women and girls spend 200 million hours each day acquiring water. This is a physically demanding task that may start at the age of four, or younger, as they join the older girls and women who walk several miles per day to obtain clean water for their families. These long journeys by foot, often multiple times a day, can leave women and girls vulnerable to attacks. To add on, climate change causes droughts and flooding, which provides them with obstacles that further complicate their expeditions. They may also stand in line and wait for their turn, or pay excessive amounts of money to obtain water. Ultimately, because they are responsible for finding water – for drinking, cooking, sanitation, and hygiene – they have limited time for work, leisure, school, and childcare. Women in the Global South often face a difficult reality – death without water or death due to illness from contaminated water.
Access to safely managed water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH) are basic human rights that every individual should have the right to exercise. These are fundamental resources for one’s health, dignity, and prosperity. Unfortunately, females are deprived of their social, economic, and cultural rights. The consumption of contaminated water is unsafe and harmful to the health of both the baby and mother. For example, each year, one million deaths are associated with unclean births. Infections account for 26% of neonatal deaths and 11% of maternal mortality. Every 2 minutes, a child dies from a water-borne disease. In order to maintain a healthy pregnancy, safe water is required. Females spend over 250 million hours per day finding an alternative space for toilets. They often share facilities with other men, which puts them at a high risk of abuse, sexual harassment, and assault. Hence, women and girls need gender-segregated spaces with clean and functional provisions of services and supplies. They also require sanitary products and disposal systems to manage their menstrual hygiene, health, and pregnancy. In one Kenyan study, 95% of girls on their menstrual cycle have missed 1 to 3 school days a month. Furthermore, 70% of them reported that it had a negative effect on their grades, and over 50% stated that they have fallen behind in their academic performance. Children, mostly girls, miss 443 million school days each year because they are exposed to sickness from water-related illnesses.
In 2015, the global community initiated the 2030 Agenda, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have been set to be accomplished by 2030. Some progress has been made, however, most of the goals may not be completed because the “world is not on track to meet the deadline.” Universal access to clean water and sanitation is one of the goals of SDG 6. However, according to UN-Water, this goal may not occur unless investments increase. Furthermore, due to environmental degradation, the ecosystem and the changing of weather events heavily impacts people’s food security, health, and safety.
The lack of WASH confines women in a cycle of poverty. To break this cycle, action policies and regulations must hold a gender equity perspective and respond to the needs of women and girls by including them in decision-making processes. Empowering women and girls is important in resolving the water crisis. When they have access to WASH in their households, they have the opportunity to fulfill their activities to the maximum level. It reduces their physical hardships and time in collecting water, which allows women to have the means to generate income and children attending a full school day. Through this approach, women can perform activities beyond their traditional roles in society, and children can have the chance to live their childhoods.