The weight of water injustice

Speak Up In my previous blog, I highlighted the period taboos across Africa. For part two of this topic, I want to draw attention to ' Speak Up '; an NGO based in Dakar, Senegal. By increasing awareness for sustainable development, this organisation catalyses leadership and policy change. Its name, 'Speak Up', acts as a short and snappy motivator for what has been a long-term issue: oppression (of African people and places).  No Taboo Periods This oppression disproportionately harms women. It manifests in gendered discrimination that hinders multiple dimensions of female life, one example being menstrual cycles. Therefore, in 2016, the Senegalese organisation launched a three-year campaign called 'No Taboo Periods' . Its aim was to break the cycle of inequality that perpetuates shame and fear during menstruation. By consequence, menstrual management could become a public health priority.  Source: 'No Taboo Periods.' Female development requires men Educat

121.7 years  are to pass before the gender gap in Sub-Saharan Africa is closed, according to the World Economic Forum (2021). Cross-country disparities are wide, but the general trend is that progress is stalled - even “ slightly reversed ”. So what does this mean for women and their periods? Compounded by water inaccessibility, the consequences reside in shame, social exclusion and missed school days.  Figure 1  displays words commonly associated with ‘menstruation’ across Africa, demonstrating the  psychological trauma  that emerges from misconceptions.  Socio-cultural norms perpetuate cycles of inequality that will do little to speed up these ‘121.7 years’.  Figure 1:  created via Monkey Learn Word Cloud Sworn to Secrecy One particular article spurred me to dedicate this week to the topic of menstruation. A study conducted in the Tatale-Sanguli District of northern Ghana discovered a striking cultural norm. Before menstruation, women - the primary water collectors - must fetch e

The topic for this week addresses the intersections between gender, water-collection and disease. Whilst many studies have examined the threat of water-borne diseases across the African continent, few have explored distance to the water source as a risk factor. A potential explanation for this gap is the understanding and use of the term “improved water source” within dominant discourse.  Global institutions such as WHO and UNICEF carry significant weight within the realm of policy-making and in fact, established a joint program for monitoring water supply in 1990. Consequently, the language deployed by these institutions is important, determining how policies will materialise.  An “improved water source” includes piped household water, public taps or standpipes, boreholes, protected wells, springs and rainwater collection. It came to be defined as ‘that which can be accessed within 30 minutes’.  Arguably, the ambiguity of the term has led to little improvement for the lives of women