Gender, Water and Poverty

Does gender discrimination contribute to poverty?

Water is one of the scared resources in the world. It plays very crucial role in supplying human’s
basic need. Women play very important role in managing water supply and distribution. However,
women are a part of the poor even though they are accessible to water sources; in this regards, there
are many researches for this issue. As stated by Khosla and Pearl (2003), “water is essential to
human beings and all forms of life. But pollution and lack of access to clean water is proliferating
the cycle of poverty, water-borne diseases, and gender inequities”. According to their study, gender
inequities are some kinds of discrimination between women and men those are related to poverty,
and of course related with water management. Therefore, there is a question rose that Does gender
discrimination contribute to poverty?

It is true that gender discrimination contributes to poverty. It is estimated that, of the 1.3 billion
people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women. Women work two-thirds of the world's
working hours, produce half of the world's food, and yet earn only 10% of the world's income and
own less than 1% of the world's property (UN Millennium Campaign, 2005). According to this
statistic from the United Nations, most vulnerable group is women who work more but earn less
and women are mainly a part of the world poverty. Women experience differently than men due to
they are treated unequally. Gender inequalities are found in social, economic, and political sectors.
For instance, gender inequalities in distribution of income, controlling over property (such as land),
decision-making process (such as Integrated Water Resources Management, IWRM), and women
are bias in labor market (such as position and payment). More specifically in social sector, women
burden more household tasks than men. They do cleaning, cooking, taking care of children, and in
the rural areas in some countries (like in the Africa) women have to go out to find water in long
distance.

This picture shows women

carrying water in Ethiopia.

Photo by magnusfranklin via

Flickr

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By Kunthea Phirum
Gender has differences in water use and management. Women face problems with water access and
water uses. In some cultures, women and men have different roles in the use and manage water. In
rural areas women and girls are responsible for collecting water for their household uses such as
water for cooking, cleaning, planting and more. Finding water is very difficult for women. For
example, as in research of Khosla and Pearl (2003), “In rural areas, women walk long distances to
fetch water, often spending 4 to 5 hours per day carrying heavy containers and suffering acute
physical problems”. They have explained the reality in society, especially in rural areas. As shown
in picture below, women in Pakistan are responsible to find water while they walk long distance and
keeping their water-pot on their heads; more important thing is that some of them have their babies
on their hands. Those women are not only responsible for household tasks but also are carefully
responsible mothers.

“In developing countries, people (usually women and children) often must walk
long distances to find water. These village women from Pakistan's southern Sindh
province embark on a water search, carrying traditional earthenware pots in
addition to their small children, particularly the poor. Their lack of access to
adequate and safe drinking-water supplies affects health and economic
opportunities. To address this ongoing global challenge, the 2002 Johannesburg
Summit pledged the goal of halving the proportion of people without access to safe
drinking water by 2015.”

Source: http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Da-En/Drinking-Water-and-Society.html

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By Kunthea Phirum
 Picture: Adopted from WHO

Water plays very important role in sustainable development such as in poverty reduction, energy
production, water as educational tool, and more useful sectors in society including IWRM. And yet,
there are still 1.1 billion people are living without access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion are
ling without access to adequate sanitation. This situation has an enormous negative impact on
women and children (World Health Organization/UNICEF, 2005). Furthermore, around 80% of all
sickness is attributable to unsafe water and sanitation. That causes some types of disease in which
women have to bear the main burden for the maintenance of family health, and it is female
responsibility. For those who are poor, they have to seek for money then face more dept and
become poorer. This is involved in inequality between women and men in family.

It is widely acknowledged that poverty is related to gender discrimination. In some areas, women
are lack of access to resources. The lack of property, credits, decision making, sexual health and
rights are the major concerns. In decision making process, like water management, women are often
excluded from participatory approach. This can be a big problem and that decision which has been
made is not quite sure that it will be effective one. It is because women could not involve showing
their ideas, needs and problems. Women have real experiences of finding and using water, therefore
they must actively have taken part in decision making process so that they can show how to use
limited resources.

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By Kunthea Phirum
In order to mainstreaming gender in the new millennium world, and after the United Nations has
set the eight MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), the 2001 international conference on
freshwater in Bonn, Germany stated that Water policies and water management systems should be
gender-sensitive. They should reflect the division of labor-paid and unpaid-between men and
women in all settings related to water. According to this statement, men and women are equally
evolved in water policy making and water management. Women are treated equally as men, and
they are encouraged to involve in all areas and all levels.

In brief, gender discrimination does contribute to poverty. Due to gender inequalities, women are
not able to access to the capabilities such as education, access to land and property, bear to burden
in household tasks, limited presentation in political life and the discrimination disadvantages at
work place (job position and payment). Women empowerment must be promoted in those sectors.
Their participation must be in all areas and all levels. The world must fight with gender
discrimination, and give more priorities to women who always get sufferings from gender
inequalities. Women play very crucial role in implementing sustainable development.

References:
Gerd Johnsson-Latham, 2004: Power and Privileges: Gender Discrimination and Poverty Interim
Studies, Stockholm.
Samira Al Zoughbi, 2008: Mainstreaming Gender Dimension into Integrated Water Resource
Development and Management, NAPC Researcher, WORKING PAPER NO 32.
Prabha Khosla and Rebecca Pearl, 2003: Gender,Water and Poverty: Key Issues, Government
Commitments And Actions for Sustainable Development, printed by Astoria Graphics
World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2005: Water for life: making it happen, Joint Monitoring
Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, printed in France

http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Da-En/Drinking-Water-and-Society.html
http://www.genderandwater.org/page/2417

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By Kunthea Phirum