Introduction

The theme of water and gender in Africa is multifaceted and encompasses a range of complex issues. Intersectionality is what will underpin this blog, as I will look at how different facets intersect with the broader understanding of gender, and their relating range of consequences (Reygan, 2021).

This image effectively portrays the supression and marginalisation of Women in Africa.

Source: The Guardian

Representation, and the often ignorant portrayals of gender in writing about Africa, is a side within this thematic area, which highlights a critical issue, namely, gendered stereotypes. These stereotypes occur within a current culture that is separate from our traditional culture and is inherited from colonial history, which has resulted in women being put in a place of subordination (Sarr, 2021). I feel as though 'How to write about Africa' (Wainaina, 2005) is a great starting point for my blog. This article clearly illustrates the issues of gendered stereotypes, which are still present in writings about Africa today. For example, describing African women by stating that they have 'naked breasts'. Although this article is not directly feminist itself, it clearly indicates and alludes to the issues relating to gender, which are associated with writings about Africa. 

This indication of inequality between genders led me down a path of trying to understand and exemplify real-world cases of inequality within villages in Africa. Namely, there is a significant opportunity cost for women in low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, who have the responsibility of managing household water supply and sanitation, meaning they forgo their participation in education and as a result, they become marginalised. This can be seen as an insecurity, which is further exacerbated by the fact that in many cases women have nowhere private to go to the toilet. This means that women are at an increased risk of sexual violence as well as having less than ideal sanitation facilities. Moreover, the cost of investing in and maintaining adequate facilities would be offset by the reduction in costs to society incurred through sexual assault (Gonsalves et al, 2015). Therefore, understanding and working to rectify the problems relating to water, in turn, will start to eradicate the overarching issue of inequality amongst gender, which is also one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.

Although critically important, the impacts of gender inequality on factors such as education and financial investments are not all that should be mentioned. This inequality generates various other impacts on women, which are commented on far less often. My hope for this blog post is to highlight the fact that mental and physical health, as well as nutritional well-being of mothers and related infants, are equally important impacts that result from gender inequality albeit at a personal scale (Collins et al, 2019). 

In my coming posts, I will look further into other facets of this intersectionality relating to gender and water in Africa, and begin to link together and illustrate the interconnectedness between the different spokes, which together, create this wheel of inequality in Africa.