- +1 406 581 3682
- randa@indiawaterproject.org
Women and girls are disproportionally affected by a lack of access to clean water
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Clean Water is a basic human right
In 2010, the United Nations acknowledged that every human being should have the right to access clean safe drinking water.
Water Supply and Sanitation Effects Throughout the Lifecycle of a Female
- Prenatal and neonatal (first 1,000 days)
- Increased neonatal mortality in water stressed areas
- Decreased likelihood baby is washed, increased susceptibility to diseases with implications for health over the lifetime
- In contexts of son preference and daughter neglect, scarce resources like water may be diverted
- Pre-school and primary age
- Where females have a higher likelihood of fetching water, children’s participation in school is affected, as they help with domestic chores
- Health and nutrition of children (stunting, diarrhea, susceptibility to disease, environmental enteric dysfunction)
- Safety (drowning)
- Secondary and higher
- Health (as above, plus urinary tract infections, arsenicosis, which has specific effects on women’s lives and other forms of contamination; problems with back and neck) and nutrition
- Human capital accumulation
- Safety (risk of harassment and violence)
- Dignity, self-respect, and agency
- Working and childbearing age
- Maternal and other health, including mortality
- Drudgery and physical impact of water collecting, where females are the main fetchers of water
- Safety (harassment and violence)
- Jobs and occupational assignment to different roles
- Empowerment and status
- Dignity and self-respect
- Elderly
- Health
- Dignity and self-respect
- Pressure on mostly female caregivers
What we can change
Clean, Safe Drinking Water is Foundational to Empowering Women and Girls
Obtaining water is not always safe - millions of women and children spend 3-6 hours each day traveling an average of 3.7 miles for access to water from often polluted sources. During this time, loan carriers are more susceptible to predation and attack. Accessible Water ATMs built in public places close to or within villages can help change that.
Safety
Decrease the likelihood of violence against women and girls by eliminating long travel for safe water.
Work
Local sources for clean water free up time for women to work and provide for their families.
School
Girls have more time to devote to their studies and commit to their future when not fetching water from remote locations.
Health
Most distant water sources are filled with water-borne diseases - clean, safe water from Water ATMs improves female health.