Who is responsible for fetching water

Global demand for water is increasing. The United Nations forecasts that if current water use patterns do not change, world demand will exceed supply by 40 percent by When communities initiate programs to improve access to water, it is critical to ask women about their needs and experiences. Although women and girls play key roles in obtaining and managing water globally, they are rarely offered roles in water improvement programs or on local water committees.

They need to be included as a right and as a practical matter. Numerous water projects in developing countries have failed because they did not include women. And women should play meaningful roles. A study in northern Kenya found that although women served on local water management committees, conflict with men at water points persisted because the women often were not invited to meetings or were not allowed to speak. Women who raise their voices about water concerns need to be heard.

We also need broader strategies to reduce gender disparities in water access. Second, women must be involved in creating and managing targeted programs to mitigate these risks. And finally, social messaging affirming the idea that water work belongs only to women must be abandoned. Others at the bore well, such as young single women, help to care for the young children while their mothers are working. This way, the bore-well become a place for socialising and baby-sitting.

The ethnographic study highlighted the fact that the plights faced by different women are not the same. The specific roles and responsibilities of each woman makes their suffering unique. Having to assume the two roles of a water carrier and a mother, simultaneously takes a toll on their body.

This picture shows a mother who is carrying a 20 litre bucket while caring for her children at the same time. She evidently risks her knees, joints and muscles to injuries as she has to balance the weight of the water-filled bucket over her head.

While investigating more about the water fetching activities, I spoke to a local doctor to inquire about any physical complaints or health concerns raised by the users. He elaborated how most of them suffer from spinal issues and pain in their limbs due to lifting of the heavy buckets. The programme actively involves rural and young women leaders of Kyrgyz, Tajik and Uzbek ethnic origins in drinking water management, and strengthens their role in Water Committees and local governments.

It is doing so through capacity-building, leadership and peer training, gender equality awareness, gender-responsive budgeting and social mobilization. While the MDG target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water has been achieved, however significantly less progress has been made in addressing the issues preventing women and girls from gaining access to sanitation and clean drinking water. These will need to figure prominently in the future development agenda.

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