Conluding Thoughts

Following seven posts, I would like to use this opportunity to reflect. This has been a challenging process as I have battled with different emotions, from confusion to anger to disgust. Blogs regarding access to toilets, menstruation, and gender-based violence were particularly hard to research and write as I felt a sense of helplessness as I discussed the impacts and issues but did little regarding recommending or finding a solution.

As I mentioned in my introductory post, this blog was not able to cover everything, and the scope limited the stakeholders I could discuss. I would also like to explore the issue of gender bias data, as this is an important part of the reason why solutions may fail. Should you wish to explore this further, I recommend you read 'Invisible Women’ and Pouramin et al.

I have sought to remain conscious of my positionality as a white female living in the UK and remain aware of the warning given by Binyavanga Wainaina. Although I have tried to give a variety of case studies and provide depth to each one, the range of literature used in my blogs has been limited. Many of the readings used to inform my discussion in the blogs were written by scholars from the Global North. I would have liked to have spent more time researching and finding literature that provided an alternative perspective. Nevertheless, I hope that over time, this will become an easier process and that these voices will be heard and given agency.

I appreciate that this blog has shown a lot of the negative sides of the relationship between water and gender, but this allows us to now work towards solutions. Therefore, I hope that I have left you with unanswered questions so that you can now continue educating yourself on this topic.

Comments

Water doesn't come from a tap

Areas across Africa, including Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), are not connected to water infrastructure such as water pipes. This means that about two-thirds of people living in SSA must leave their homes to collect water. This is due to limited water infrastructure, investment, and water sources. This forces individuals and communities to travel long distances and wait in lines to access water sources. Women and children are often the ones to bear the burden of this responsibility as they collect and manage the use of water . In the last blog, we explored the role of culture in assigning gender-based roles. The responsibility of water collection is a further example of this as it manifested through patriarchal cultural norms . This blog, however, will highlight the extent to which the collection and use of water is a gendered issue whilst also exploring the consequences of this burden on young girls and women. Impacts of water collection Although water fetching is ph...

Who gives a shit?

Apologies for my language, but who really gives a shit about shit? Following rapid population growth, the African Development Bank (AfDB) projects that Africa’s population will increase from 1 billion in 2010 to 1.6 billion in 2030 . This rapid growth has outgrown the rate of infrastructural construction. This problem is made worse by the increased number of informal settlements, inadequate governance, poor urban planning, and limited access to water sources. Due to this, approximately 900 million people worldwide are still forced to defecate in the open because they do not have access to a toilet. This is shocking given that sustainable development goal 6 focuses on sanitation and access to toilets. What about those who do have access? I hope that by now I have shown that simply having the physical infrastructure available is not enough! Access to toilets is not contingent on having the infrastructure, instead, this can be affected by maintenance, location, and opening ho...

Tackling Taboos

So far, this blog has discussed how gender and water are related and has explored the consequences of this relationship. A common denominator for many of the issues we have discussed has been cultural norms. Therefore, all solutions proposed, regardless of their size and scale, must consider cultural norms. Thus, I suggest that solutions should start by addressing and challenging social taboos. Taboos are found everywhere, irrespective of development, culture, or class, and this can span from taboos surrounding sexuality, money, or even asking a woman’s age. I would like to focus on two – the taboo of shit and the taboo of periods. Taboo of shit There is an unspoken social rule which restricts how we talk about sanitation. The act of going to the toilet is a private practice and one that is somewhat unhygienic, so does not require attention or discussion. You go, you do, you leave. What more is there to talk about? This social awkwardness around talking about toilets has a wider im...

Water, Gender and Development in Africa

Search This Blog