Today, on International Women’s Day, I find myself reflecting on the intrinsic link between water and the lives of women and girls worldwide. The essence of this connection lies not just in the statistics — 2.2 billion people lack safe water, and 3.5 billion lack a safe toilet — but in the deeply personal struggles women and girls face in securing these essential resources.
Through my work at Water.org, I have come to understand how deeply this issue affects women and girls, for which the struggle to access safe water and sanitation is personal. Primarily responsible for sourcing this vital resource — for drinking, cooking, maintaining hygiene, and sustaining livelihoods — women and girls experience long queues, undertake demanding journeys, and allocate significant time and resources to secure water for their families. For girls, the time required for water collection means less time for school. This pursuit presents a painful dilemma: facing either the imminent threat of death without water or potential illness from unreliable sources.
Today, women and girls around the world invest a collective 200 million hours every day in the demanding task of water collection, in addition to the time spent and substantial effort required to locate a safe place to go. The gendered impact of the global water crisis is evident not only in the responsibility women and girls bear but also in the infringement this responsibility has on their time and choices.
The Gendered Impact of the Water Crisis
The global water crisis and gender mobility are deeply connected. Today, on International Women’s Day, from rural Africa to South American cities, women and girls will spend their day on foot, risking their health and safety with each journey in pursuit of water for their families. Through our work, we have identified five core factors at the intersection of this relationship:
- Health Impacts: Unreliable water sources contribute to waterborne diseases, particularly affecting women who often hold caregiver roles. Poor health resulting from water-related illnesses limits women’s ability to pursue economic opportunities or make other life choices.
- Safety and Security: Women experience greater vulnerability to violence during journeys to find water or a safe place to go and face heightened risks of harassment and exploitation, impacting their privacy and safety and exacerbating gender disparities.
- Education Disparities: Limited access to safe water can lead to girls missing school due to water-related illness or chores. Without the learning and socialization opportunities created at school, long-term professional opportunities and earning potential can be severely inhibited for girls.
- Time and Income Considerations: Women’s predominant responsibility for water collection negatively affects their time to earn income, pursue other interests, and make choices. Limited time and income affect their economic mobility and perpetuate gender inequities.
- Community Engagement: The water crisis also impedes women’s ability to engage in leadership opportunities and contribute to the economy, interfering with their ability to participate in shaping the social fabric of their communities.
The first step to addressing gender mobility is to ensure women and girls have access to essential resources, like safe water and sanitation. At Water.org, we have found that empowering women with access to safe water and sanitation starts with access to affordable financing.
Financial Inclusion: A Catalyst for Change
For families around the world living below the poverty line, a determining factor for access to safe water and sanitation in their homes is access to affordable financing. Those living without access to these essential resources are caught in a cycle of poverty, knowing what solutions will work best for them but unable to afford long-term water and sanitation solutions. Microcredit tools, like our WaterCredit solution, have emerged as a tailored approach to addressing this challenge.
As the first to implement microcredit tools in the water and sanitation sector, to date, our WaterCredit solution has helped us reach more than 63 million people with access to safe water or sanitation. With this proven and powerful tool and our local financial partners, we have mobilized $5.2 billion through 13.9 million small loans to people in need, with a remarkable 90% of loan recipients being women.
Through partnerships with financial institutions, small loans for water and sanitation solutions are provided to individuals in need. These affordable loans enable women to implement long-term water and sanitation solutions that work best for their individual situations. Over time, this sustainable alternative is more cost-effective than continuing to pay high prices for temporary fixes, whether in time or money.
Beyond the immediate benefits of safe water and sanitation, these small loans give women the resources and time to change their lives. With these resources, women can pursue interests or contribute to the financial security of their families and households, while girls can focus on friendships and learning.
Financial inclusion serves as a gateway for women to engage in economic interests and prioritize essential needs. Women, empowered with financial solutions and safe water, can make choices that transform their lives, families, and communities. But most importantly, the act of making these choices creates pride, confidence, and opportunity for the women and girls we serve.
The Power of Water
Access to safe water and sanitation can unlock education opportunities, improve health, and create economic prosperity for families around the world. The impact of access to safe water and sanitation through financial inclusion is well demonstrated in a 2021 study we commissioned to understand better the transformative impacts of improved water and sanitation combined with microcredit interventions.
The research highlighted significant health improvements, notably in menstruation management and maternal health, correlating with reduced maternal mortality rates as a result of women gaining access to improved water supply and sanitation. Access to improved sanitation facilities decreased exposure to gender-based violence and contributed to safer environments for women and girls.
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For girls, improved access to safe water and sanitation improved access to education. The connection between water-related illnesses and school days lost annually is significant, particularly for girls engaged in water collection activities. Improved access to water and sanitation increased school attendance and enrollment, offering girls the opportunity for higher academic achievement, improved job prospects, and increased economic mobility.
The data revealed tangible economic benefits. In India, 62% of women engaged in economic activities post-implementation of water solutions, a testament to time gained. Similarly, in Kenya and Uganda, 30% of households with improved water solutions ventured into income-generating activities like water sales and agricultural activities, underscoring water’s role as a catalyst for economic growth and community engagement.
The convenience of having water access at home saved time and fundamentally shifted how women could engage with their economies and communities. This shift goes beyond the physical presence of water and creates opportunities for education, for health, and for economic independence.
Empowering Voices: Amina’s Decision for Safe Water
During a visit to Tanzania, I had the privilege of meeting Amina, a resilient single mother of four whose story underscores the transformative power of access to safe water. Before Amina’s journey with WaterCredit began, she used to travel more than four miles each day to source water for her family. This daily ritual is one that countless women in water-scarce communities know all too well.
Amina’s daily ritual changed when she discovered the possibilities offered by microloans through our local financial partner in Tanzania. Embracing the opportunity, Amina took out her first loan, and with it, she implemented her first water solution. To repay the loan, Amina ingeniously started selling excess water to her community members, intertwining entrepreneurship with community service.
What unfolded next is nothing short of remarkable. With an undeterred spirit, Amina secured five loans in total, each acting as a building block for a profound water supply transformation in her community. These subsequent loans empowered Amina to implement additional water-sourcing solutions, invest in land to support these initiatives and construct a shelter for water collection tanks. Amina’s entrepreneurial evolution epitomizes the potential unleashed when financial inclusion converges with access to water, creating positive outcomes for women’s economic and social mobility.
Beyond the tangible water solutions, Amina’s story unveils a precious resource she gained — time. Liberated from the responsibility of her daily water collection journey, Amina channeled this newfound time into invaluable pursuits. She directed her efforts towards supporting her children’s education, paying their school fees, and fostering a bright future for her family. Amina’s story is a testament to the empowerment that comes with improved water access.
Conclusion
Behind every statistic are women like Amina, whose lives have been changed through improved water access and financial inclusion. Improved access to safe water and sanitation is a leading pillar of women’s and girls’ equity and mobility, with access to funding being a key component to unlocking opportunities. Solutions like ours showcase financial inclusion’s transformative power. Access to small loans mitigates the challenges associated with a lack of access to safe water and sanitation while fostering economic empowerment and reshaping societal dynamics.
As we work towards a world in which everyone, everywhere, has access to safe water and sanitation, it’s imperative to recognize the interconnectedness of water access, gender equity, and financial inclusion. Empowering women with financial resources allows them to be agents of change in their communities and beyond and implement the solutions that will work best for them. This International Women’s Day, join us in empowering more women around the world to help themselves and their families and transform their communities.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — Featured Photo Credit: Water.org
