Water and gender
Water scarcity has detrimental impacts on women and girls. Indeed, water is central to the full range of domestic ‘unpaid’ activities, which many cultures still view traditionally as “women domain”: food preparation, care of animals, crop irrigation, personal hygiene of the entire household, care of the sick, cleaning, washing and waste disposal. This gendered division of labour in water collection tasks deprives women and girls from opportunities to escape the vicious circle of poverty and disempowerment. We need to view women and men as equal partners in all areas of water governance and water resource management at all levels.