Gendered Responsibility

The collection of water from an external source is a critical part of life for almost half of the world's population, however, the issues surrounding the completion of this domestic 'duty' is something I have touched on before, although in this blog I would like to look into why the collection of water is almost always seen as a woman's duty, and the resulting implications this may have on their lives from both a socioeconomic standpoint and also a physical one. 

This chart illustrates how 71% of water collection duties in sub-Saharan Africa are undertaken by females, which is a significant majority. However, as water is a necessity for all and there are often inadequate resources, this leads to competition amongst women. People will queue for extended periods of time, meaning they have to rise inconveniently early in the morning in order to reduce time spent waiting. Furthermore, research has shown that many women will even compromise potential work opportunities in order to be situated closer to water sources so they can also complete domestic duties and minimise time spent away from work. However, this isn't necessarily always the right decision as women may forgo higher-earning job opportunities, for informal low wage local jobs in order to prioritise domestic duties, which may be financially damaging in the long term. 

As well as there being substantial financial implications of the burden of water collection and gendered responsibility, there are also notable physical impacts on women. In the Kumasi metropolitan area in Ghana for example, much of the population suffer from deficiencies and malnutrition as a result of the widespread lack of nutrient-dense foods. Therefore, in these conditions, when women are expected to undertake physically taxing and exhausting tasks, they burn far more calories, meaning they will tend to live with a greater calorie deficit each day, resulting in the worsening of their physical condition. It is clear to see that not only are there physical and financial impacts on women's lives but also women have to turn down potential better job opportunities, which may allow them to socialise more with others, as well as being able to spend more time at home with family and children, which would generate closer family bonds and potentially improve mental wellbeing as well as physical and financial wellbeing. 

Gendered responsibility and the underlying assumptions relating to certain roles in society in sub-Saharan Africa need to be changed. An improvement in education in these areas would greatly impact this as people would be able to understand the impacts that are taking place on women and social norms would begin to be reformed, leading to much greater potential for development. Without steps like this being taken, gendered responsibilities and expectations will remain and so too will the poverty which undermines the lives of so many.