The Burden of Water Collection
Today, I will highlight the unjust role of women as primary water collectors and how this accentuates gender inequality. I am using multiple case studies across Zimbabwe, including Manyanhaire et al. (2009) case study of Mundenda village, to analyse the discriminatory nature of water collection, which disproportionately falls on the shoulders of women; a staggering 83% of women are primary water collectors in rural Zimbabwe.
Time Poverty
In Mundenda, distances to collect water range from 500 metres to 5 kilometres, with two or three trips taken daily, each trip lasting 30 minutes on average. This situation is not improved in urban areas either, since Remigios (2011) investigated water collection in Kadoma's high-density suburbs and found that women would have to wake up as early as 3 a.m. to join queues at boreholes, as water is vital for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and drinking.
Women are essentially obligated to undertake this responsibility. Water is a crucial resource for which there is no substitute at all. Time is also a finite resource, and when there is no adequate, safe water supply nearby, women and girls travel considerable distances to collect it, and the time lost collecting water is known as 'time poverty'.
This time-consuming responsibility leaves women with little time for work, education or leisure activities, and is a huge barrier to girls empowerment due to the constraints it puts on their education and contributes to poor school attendance and academic performance. This leads to fewer women entering higher education and being less financially independent overall, thus having to depend on men. Water collection undeniably reinforces unfair gender roles, creating inequalities within the household.
Figure 1: Pumping water from a borehole in Zimbabwe.
Water collection also involves a dangerous physical burden, especially in Mundenda’s uneven, undulating terrain. Carrying huge weights over long distances can cause strained backs and pelvic and spinal abnormalities. This danger is exacerbated for mothers carrying young children; and for pregnant women, it might result in miscarriage or premature labour. Furthermore, a startling 67% of rural Zimbabwe does not have access to safe drinking water, resulting in cholera and diarrheal disease, one of the primary causes of death for African children under five.
"It is survival of the fittest here. If you wake up late, you may not get the water," – says Nyarai Mudavanhu after waiting 3 hours in the queue. Disappointingly, few academics have explored who is most affected by lengthy water collection times. Nayarai is an example of a disabled woman in Harare, Zimbabwe who carries a 20-litre bucket of water on her head with a physically impaired leg. Ultimately, women have no say in water collection, because it is their gender role to take care of domestic chores and shoulder this immense burden.
Why Women?
Truly, I am perplexed as to why women are tasked with water collecting. Culturally, men are seen as breadwinners, and it is considered shameful for men to collect water as it undermines their masculinity. They do fetch water at a young age, but economic opportunities take precedence as they get older. Young girls in less developed communities cannot grow out of this burden, partly due to their lack of education, and therefore it remains with them throughout their lives.
The Water Crisis is a Women's Crisis
The time, physical and cultural constraints of water collection traps numerous women in a vicious cycle of poverty. Improved nearby water supplies would alleviate these burdens, save many hours of time, reduce risks and dangers, and promote women's economic and social empowerment, while also decreasing the time spent purifying water, the danger of developing water-borne diseases, and reducing the strain on women who must care for sick family members.
It is especially critical for development projects to recognise the uneven burden women bear, or they will continue to fall short of their goals. The Hippo Roller, for example, would be immensely helpful to collect water. This large water drum with handles that can roll on the ground alleviates the risks of water collection for women and enables them to use their time more productively. Whilst the Hippo Roller is not the ultimate goal in the greater scheme of things, it can be hugely beneficial until stakeholders, and community members invest in long-term improved water sources.
Good attemept to explore the complex issue of water and gender inequality using case studies from Zimbabwe showing adequate engagement with literatures but references need to be embeded. What are the implicaiton of water collection by women in urban centres?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, Clement. Water collection in urban centres tends to be dominated by informal water markets, especially for women living in informal urban settlements who do not have access to a piped water supply. For many, buying water from private vendors is their best option, even though the prices may be steep, and the quality is not guaranteed. The growth of water vendors is due to the government failing to deliver a public service, and therefore it is essential that the government thus regulates these services. Since women are responsible for collecting water, reliance on an unregulated vendor, where supply shortages may take place, puts women at risk if they are unable to provide water for their family.
DeleteHi Greta! In your section entitled 'The Physical Burden' you mentioned how women can wait up to three hours in the queue to fetch water. Do you know of any strategies in place that aim to reduce waiting times?
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie! In an ideal situation, having multiple water points in a community would reduce waiting times. However, water sources suffering from low water pressure are more likely to have longer waiting times too. This is something which should also be addressed, if it is the case. I’m surprised to find that not many studies have analysed how installing more water points would reduce queue times, especially the impact this would have on women’s time savings.
DeleteHi Greta, what an interesting read! I agree that the trap of poverty, linked directly to water, is vicious and often difficult to escape? How do you think women in particular can change and possibly escape this trap, what do you think are the means to ending this? Looking forward to your answer :)
ReplyDeleteHi Wiktoria, water access and poverty are inextricably linked. When women have access to a nearby safe water source they are able to break the cycle of poverty. By having more time for employment and education, they are able to increase their economic prosperity for an improved future. This, of course, is easier said than done. The means to escaping this trap is recognising and integrating women into water management and governance, whether this lies in raising awareness about women’s potential, or translating intention into action. Solving poverty is complex, and not all women are able to lift themselves out of this cycle without help from international organisations or NGOs. Cultural and societal norms have huge roles to play here as well. I hope this answer shed some light on the complexities surrounding this issue!
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