Water, and our relationship with it is something that we in the Western world might only think about on the rare occasions that we check our water meter, or see a news headline proclaiming water scarcity far away from us. The simple act of turning on the tap or, in England, stepping outside, brings us into contact with what, in other regions of the world, is the source of almost constant stress and worry (Harris et al, 2016). The stress and worry that Harris et al (2016) refer to is experienced primarily by women and girls, who tend to be the main providers of domestic water. Common discourses around issues of water and gender in Africa are that male and female experiences of water management, governance, access and usage are differentiated, and that higher levels of access to water can be associated with increases in gender equality (Khvan, 2014; Harris et al 2016). This blog will focus particularly on regions in Africa, and on the genderedness of the human relationship with water in this region.
The World Health Organisation defines reasonable access to water as having access to 'at least 20 litres per person per day from one source within one kilometre of the user's dwelling' (Thompson et al, 2011, pg.112). However, this does not reflect the fact that these supplies are not always a constant source of water, and so the creativity and persistence that women employ to source enough water for their household is often overlooked. A recent study based in Accra, Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa, found that a statistically significant proportion of the women studied would expect to spend a substantial part of the day fetching water (Harris et al, 2016). This then means that females will have less time or opportunity to work or go to school, meaning less chances to become independent, or support themselves outside of their prescribed role within the household. This is of course an obvious oversimplification of a complex issue, and in later posts I shall examine the relationship between access to water and opportunities for increased gender equality in greater detail.
It would be easy to assume that males have no involvement with domestic water usage, however this is not true, and as such, they cannot be excluded from a gendered analysis of the human relationship with water and development. Whilst women are generally agreed upon as the primary providers of water to their household, there has been significantly more difficulty in identifying the primary manager of water within the family unit. In Accra and Ghana, a large percentage of the women studied felt that water management meetings were open to men only, whilst the men appeared to feel that the meetings were open to everyone (Harris et al, 2016). This could imply that men and women might jointly decide water use within their household, but social norms might dictate that females are seen as more submissive within the wider community. Again, this is an assumption that I will investigate further in future posts.
Women have been emphasised throughout this post, and throughout my experience of the literature so far, as the key providers of water to their household, however the managers have not been so clearly defined. The role of gender is clearly very important in determining outcomes of water management and development, so will be considered carefully in posts to come.
List of References
Harris L, Klieber D, Goldin J, Darkwah A & Morinville C. (2016) 'Intersections of gender and water: comparative approaches to everyday gendered negotiations of water access in underserved areas pf Accra, Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa' Journal of gender studies. 1-22.
Khvan O. (2014) 'In fight for gender equality in Africa, clean water plays a key role: Fetching water is a household chore traditionally delegated to women and girls in Africa' Global Post Boston. 15.4.
Thompson J.A, Folifac F, & Gaskin S.J. (2011) 'Fetching water in the unholy hours of the night: The impacts of a water crisis on girls' sexual health in semi-urban Cameroon' Girlhood Studies 4, 2, 111-129.
Good start!
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