An Analysis of Gender–Water Nexus in Rural Bangladesh

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of the gender-water nexus in rural Bangladesh based on extensive field survey, focus group discussion, and interview with key informants, all carried out at seven study locations across Bangladesh. It presents the findings in four key areas: household water management, health and well-being, irrigation water management, and water related vulnerability. It has been observed that water for household use is collected by women and children, who face an array of physical, psychological and social problems. How water is collected depends on income/social class, location of water source, time of the day, and religious/cultural factors. The time spent for water collection imposes significant opportunity costs as loss of income and education opportunities. Tube well water is widely used for drinking, but pond and river water is extensively used for other purposes. This, along with the lack of sanitation, causes frequent outbreak of water-borne diseases. Improper storage of water, poorly maintained tube wells, and arsenic in shallow wells pose additional threats to health. Women in arsenic affected areas face excommunication if detected with arsenicosis; in coastal areas women are forced to fry collection under very unhealthy and unsafe conditions. These difficulties are exacerbated during natural disasters such as floods and droughts. Presently, there is very little participation of women in agricultural water management as 'right to water' is perceived as linked with 'right to land', over which women have little control. These hardships and deprivations are fundamentally caused by the lack of a number of factors: awareness, education, access to resources, empowerment, and institutional support. This article suggests a range of policy interventions to address these issues.

Social Stratification in the Drinking Water Scarcity Context: Empirical Evidence of Coastal Bangladesh

“…3 The upazilas are the second lowest tier of regional administration in Bangladesh. 4 Farakka Barrage is a barrage across the Ganges River, located in the Indian state of West Bengal, roughly 16.5 kilometres from the border with Bangladesh. Construction was started in 1961 and completed in 1975 and this barrage has great impact on the tidal river flows and its management in Bangladesh.…”

“…Nowadays there is an increasing trend of water scarcity, which is one of the pressing challenges in different countries around the world. Problems that are related with water availability and water quality are increasing rapidly and have become particularly severe in developing countries, affecting not only the drinking water supply, but also sanitation, food security, economy and transport [4,5]. Water problems are not only related to availability or quality, but to water management, which is influenced by social conditions [6,7]., As stated by the World Water Forum of 2002, "It is a crisis of managing water so badly, that billions of people and the environment suffer badly and prospects at the longer term look like grim" [8].…”

Gendered water spaces: a study of the transition from wells to handpumps in Mozambique

“…In a similar study, also from Bangladesh, Faisal and Kabir (2005) show how local cultural norms, such as purdah, and individual attributes, such as class and age, interact with the materiality of the water sources. For example, poorer women were more likely to collect water themselves than wealthy women, but water collection norms were also modified by the distance and public nature of the well, as well as arsenic contamination.…”

Integrating Ecology and Poverty Reduction

“…In Bangladesh, women have no involvement in agricultural water management. In the past, the 'right to water' was tied to the 'right to land,' which was usually in the hands of men (Faisal and Kabir 2005 ) . According to Zwarteveen and Meinzen-Dick ( 2001 ) , the insecure mechanisms that women have with which to negotiate water access can have a negative impact on the quality and distribution of this resource.…”

“…Likewise, women are more vulnerable to ecological disasters that are now increasing in intensity and frequency due to the effect of climate change. Faisal and Kabir ( 2005 ) reported that women in Bangladesh identifi ed a number of waterrelated factors that make them more vulnerable on a daily or seasonal basis. Collecting drinking water becomes extremely diffi cult during fl ooding as well as during droughts when women may have to walk several kilometers just to fetch a pitcher of water.…”