Is the glass half empty or half full?

Image credit: Joshua Lam Photography

Hello everyone! Welcome to my blog where over the next few months I will be writing about the relationship between water and gender. 

Why water?

Water is vital to sustain all life on Earth - human and non-human. Aside from basic survival, access to sufficient and safe water has positive impacts on hygiene, health and productivity.  

Why gender?

"Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men - such as norms, roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men."

 (WHO, 2016)

Gender norms present in society can impact the type of relationship women have with water. For example, as many of the women in African countries are expected to look after the home, they are usually expected to fetch the water and the manage the water used at home. This post will explore the gendered division of household work to give a brief introduction to the different experiences women and men when it comes to use, access and management of water. 

The gendered division of water work

The gendered division of work, found in many places in Africa, restricts women to the domestic sphere- looking after the house and the children. While men are expected to work outside of the home and provide for the family (Udry et al, 1995). This division influences the way in which men and women interact with natural resources, including water (Crow and Sultana, 2002).These household divisions mean that women’s relationship with water is often restricted to domestic water. Firstly, they are responsible for the collection of water. Secondly, once the water is fetched, they will then use it for “feminized task” such as cooking, preparing drinking water, cleaning and bathing young children (Baguma et al, 2012).

“The water world is structured as a masculine domain: the domain of engineers, ditch diggers, ditch riders and farmers in the countryside and urban planners in the cities”

(Bennett et al, 2008:107)

 As suggested by Bennett et al (2008), the field of water management is very male dominated with emphasis on work in public spaces. These divisions mean that women have little or no say in the management of water and their experience with water is often neglected. This is highlighted by the membership of ministries of irrigation and water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa, which is made up and headed by men, for example, Paul Mayom Akec in South Sudan and Joel Gabuza in Zimbabwe.

However, this completely dismisses women’s close and daily involvement in water use when conducting household duties means that they actually have first-hand, everyday experiences with water. The women hold specialised local knowledge and expertise, which could prove essential in the management of water (UNDESA, 2005). So, it is important to not only educate them but also to empower them to take part in decision making regarding water (Figueiredo et al, 2013).

The future of water management without women is gloomy – the glass is half empty.

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List of references

Baguma, D., Hashim, J.H., Aljunid, S.M. and Loiskandl, W., 2013. Safe-water shortages, gender perspectives, and related challenges in developing countries: The case of Uganda. Science of the Total Environment, 442, pp.96-102.

Bennett, V., Dávila-Poblete, S. and Rico, M.N., 2008. Water and gender: the unexpected connection that really matters. Journal of International Affairs, pp.107-126.

Crow, B. and Sultana, F., 2002. Gender, class, and access to water: Three cases in a poor and crowded delta. Society &Natural Resources, 15(8), pp.709-724.

Figueiredo, P. and Perkins, P.E., 2013. Women and water management in times of climate change: participatory and inclusive processes. Journal of Cleaner Production, 60, pp.188-194.

UNDESA, 2005. Women 2000 and beyond and Water. New York: UN.

Udry, C., Hoddinott, J., Alderman, H. and Haddad, L., 1995. Gender differentials in farm productivity: implications for household efficiency and agricultural policy. Food policy, 20(5), pp.407-423.

WHO, 2016. Gender, equity and human rights, [online] ,[accessed: 12 Sept 2016], available at: http://www.who.int/gender-equity-rights/understanding/gender-definition/en/