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Tuesday March 19, 2024

‘Water scarcity no friend of women’s health, education’

By our correspondents
November 23, 2017

In an attempt to understand women’s fair share of troubles concerning water management, a panel discussion titled ‘Women, WASH and Climate Change’ revealed that women not only face health problems but in areas experiencing water scarcity, girls most often have to abandon their education to serve as water bearers for their households.


Presided over by Khawar Mumtaz, chair National Commission on Status of Women, the panel comprised of three presenters, Mehnaz Nadeem of Old Associates of Kinniard Society (OAKS), public health researcher Dr Ayesha Khan of Akhter Hameed Khan (AHK) Resource Centre and environmental architect Shahid Khan of Indus Water Trust. The discussion was held on the second day of the ‘Third International Water Conference - The Future of Water’ on Wednesday.


Sharing her research paper, Dr Ayesha, whose organisation aims to become an urban poverty research and implementation institute, explained how she used the Citizen Report Card (CRC) method to improve water quality in an urban slum, Dhok Hassu, in Rawalpindi.


The water was so scarce in the area that it would only be available for two hours each day, and often women had to step out to acquire it from other sources. However, in regressive localities where women are barred from leaving the house, the additional burden of having to survive on water brought by men adds to their [women’s] miseries.


Interestingly, 76 per cent of men as opposed to women were satisfied with the quality of drinking water they were providing and did not take it as a cause of waterborne illnesses; however, when the boreholes were tested for contamination, 17 out of 24 samples tested positive.


Working in Sindh and Balochistan for the past 17 years, the Indus Water Trust aims to provide the rural population with sustainable water resources. Their ‘Water for Women’ project in Kohistan focuses on water replenishment through rainwater harvesting and rehabilitation of dug wells.


Khan shared that 92 per cent of rural women were responsible for collecting water, with 80 per cent of them having to walk one to five kilometres carrying 15 to 20 litres of water each day. He added that 71 per cent of the females involved in the practice are less than 15 years of age, which means that they do not have any chance of acquiring education.


“These women are plagued with severe health problems as they carry the burden of water on their heads which affects their spines at a later age,” he added. While the project was able to fill 28 reservoirs, the main sponsor, a popular beverage company did not provide enough funds to line the reservoirs for sustainability or expand the project further.


Mehnaz Nadeem of OAKS’ Karachi chapter, that has been associated with the National Institute of Child and Health (NICH), spoke in detail about how water in Tharparkar was ‘women’s business’.


Speaking of the recent drought in the area that led to malnutrition among children, she said the organisation was looking after deep-dug wells as well as livestock to provide the district’s residents sustenance.


However, a government representative’s lament of such non-governmental groups’ lack of action with respect to providing solutions, earned the ire of all attendees who pointed out the irony in the very question, asserting that a government official was in no position to say that considering the government’s own poor performance in the district.


Later Fauzia Viqar and Neelum Toru, chairpersons of the status of women of Punjab and Khyber Pukhtunkhua respectively, stated that the government was finally recognising the role of women. Fauzia stressed that data collection was extremely important in this regard, because without numbers it would be impossible to form water management policies.


The absence of chairpersons from both Sindh and Balochistan raised many eyebrows as it showed that the government was yet to take women’s role seriously. Sadly, the Balochistan commission has not even been activated till now.