Water, Gender and Development in Africa

This series of blogs will be exploring gender and water through the example of Africa. Where to start? As I began to explore one aspect of water, I would find myself discussing and drawing upon other elements and consequences such as the economy, infrastructure, and politics. Immediately, this shows how complex and interlinked water and gender will be. This introductory post will clarify some questions: why Africa? Why gender? Why is water and its relationship to gender of importance? Why gender and water? I n Zimbabwe, the Shona proverb ‘water is life’ is based on the idea that to deny water is to deny life . Water in regard to access, quality and quantity, is a basic human right however for many this is seen as a privilege and aspiration. By simply googling 'water and gender' you are presented with over 7 billion results including the websites of different United Nations branches such as UNESCO, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and the Food and Agricu