African women's everyday struggles and sacrifices for water

Why African women need to be included in climate change discourse The Sahel region is a  hotspot for climate change : temperatures increase  1.5 times quicker than the rest of the world.   Approximately 65% of the population in the Sahel live in rural areas, with a vast majority of communities being prone to intense droughts, desertification and floods. Rural communities rely on agriculture as it is the most significant economic sector. Since 2015, 36/46 of sub-Saharan African countries formally addressed climate change through their policies and laws, however, only 3 of these countries (Mali, Malawi and Nigeria) have emphasised the need to address gendered-climate justice. Women in this region account for 80% of the agricultural labour force and are thus disproportionately disadvantaged by climate change. Women bear the brunt of climate issues because they h old positions burned by environmental change,  including water collection and agriculture. For example,...

Understated violence behind water collection and toilet facilities  Patriarchy comes in all forms. Patriarchal violence is undoubtedly the most gruesome form of sexism, one that is routine everywhere in the world. Women and girls collecting water and practising open defecation in Africa are not safe: they are commonly greeted with male violence at water point queues, water fetching paths and open defecation routes. Women are also subjected to domestic abuse when they fail to gather enough water to complete their domestic responsibilities. Thus it is important to adopt an "engendered" interpretation of the right to sanitation.  Why do women practice open defecation? Open defecation is a product of patriarchy: the lack of consideration of differential gendered sanitation needs and the dominance of men in decision making in both the domestic and public sphere means toilet facilities are not designed to meet the basic sanitation needs of women. The topic of open defecation is com...

Why does water collection labour require gender and child-centred perspective?  Women and children bear the brunt of water labour. A study of six rural communities in South Africa shows that 56% of women and 31% of young girls carried the burden of collecting water compared to only 10% of young boys and 3% of men. The most significant factor influencing the role of a child's contribution to water collection is their gender . Children typically leave school early to look after younger siblings while the mothers collect water, alternatively, they leave school to collect water themselves. This impacts their studies significantly as they are left fatigued and many reported difficulties concentrating at school. Women often experience conflict at water points, which commonly results in physical or sexual assault - the perceived fear of assault alone demonstrates the urgency of safer ways to have access to water. Health risks associated with water collection  In sub-Saharan Africa, ...