Gender

By putting women at the heart of our projects not only is their status raised but the health and prospects of their communities also increases.

Credit: WaterAid / Marco Betti

The sustainability of water and sanitation improvements depends on their being equitable, inclusive and appropriate. Key to this is the involvement of women.

In poor communities, women and girls are most affected by a lack of safe water and sanitation. They are usually tasked with collecting water from distant sources, carrying heavy containers for hours at a time, and looking after their children and other family members when they are sick from diseases caused by dirty water. When menstruating, girls often drop out of school where there are inadequate facilities.

Moreover, the indignity of living without sanitation facilities damages the status of women and girls within their communities. They also run risks to their personal security where they have to wait until nightfall to go outside to defecate.

Interventions to improve sanitation facilities and water supplies must respond to and address these gender issues. WaterAid works with our partners to ensure that women and girls are actively involved in all stages, including the planning, construction and decision-making.

As the main users of future water points women are best placed to advise on their ideal locations and will invariably have good knowledge of existing local water sources. Women must also be consulted on their choice and location of latrines.

Strengthening the voice and role of women is often a profound change to the status quo in many of countries where we work, but the wider impacts are clear.

For instance, when there is water close to home and sanitation facilities in school, girls are released from the drudgery of water collection and are more likely to stay in school.

Women with even a few years of basic education have smaller, healthier families, are more likely to contribute to the family income and are more likely to send their own children, boys and girls, to school.

By putting women at the heart of our projects not only is their status raised but the health and prospects of their communities also improves.