SubscribeProviding clean, affordable water and adequate sanitation for everyone would transform billions of lives, particularly of women in developing countries, and must be an absolute priority for all aid donors and governments, the World Development Movement said in an International Women’s Day message.
"If men were responsible for fetching and carrying water, no doubt this problem would have been solved decades ago. But collecting water is mostly the responsibility of women and children throughout the world - and it is a badly neglected development issue. Women pay a huge price for this - in terms of the physical effort required to carry buckets of water long distances, but also in terms of time lost, health weakened and, especially for girls, the missed schooling," said Beverley Duckworth, WDM's Head of Campaigns.
She added, "The key to the provision of clean, affordable water is for governments and donors to invest in efficient, transparent and accountable public and community providers that place the needs and views of women and all water users at their heart."
Across Africa, women are at the forefront of the struggle to access clean and affordable water and they are demanding that their governments and the international donor community tackle this issue.
Hamida Harrison from the Network for Women's Rights, Ghana says: "There are many aspects of gender to do with water. One is domestic violence. If women cannot supply water, after they have walked miles to look for it, they cannot cook or wash their clothes. This can create domestic tension, which contributes to domestic violence. Women have been battered and even killed because they were unable to supply water for their husbands. We must call on governments not to renege on their responsibilities to citizens. Water is a service and we will not let them kill us."
Professor Samia Galal, an expert in environmental health in Egypt says: "In urban areas, there are two types of women, the haves and the have-nots. The haves can mostly get the water they need but the have-nots who live in the unplanned areas around Cairo have to get water at ten times the price from private vendors. So it is hard for these women to observe full sanitary practices. Meanwhile, even the haves are impacted by poor water supply. Women in high-rise flats may not get adequate water because the pumps cannot maintain pressure to the top floors. This can really lengthen the working day for women as they need to wait until the late evening until the pressure picks up and they can use water for their household chores."
In South Africa, women are fighting against the installation of pre-paid water meters by the water authorities, as the poorer sections of the community simply cannot afford to buy water. A group of unemployed residents from Phiri in Soweto have lodged a legal case to try to get the use of pre-paid water meters declared unconstitutional. Jennifer Makoatsane, one of the litigants, argues:
"Since we experienced the installation of pre-paid water meters, people have been resisting. They are not good; they make our life a misery. With the help of Campaign Against Water Privatisation, the Freedom of Expression Institute and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, a case has been filed against the city of Johannesburg and Johannesburg Water. The Constitution says we have a right to water. Pre-paid water meters should be declared unconstitutional and uninstalled."
Virginia Setshedi from the Freedom of Expression Institute in South Africa says: "The powerful never listen to the powerless, until the powerless unite. Enough is enough! Our water has been taken away from us - and we want to strengthen our voice. To those who are filling their pockets with profits made from our water, we will send a message to them."
7 March 2007