ActionAid Zimbabwe highlights water shortage effects on women and girls.
By Memory Mudzani
As the world was commemorating World Water Day on 22 March under the theme “Leveraging Water for Peace,” ActionAid Zimbabwe was spotlighting the pressing issue of water scarcity and its disproportionate effects on women and girls.
According to ActionAid ,Zimbabwe faces a complex array of challenges, including rapid urbanization, escalating global temperatures driven by climate change, recurrent droughts, cholera outbreaks, the persistent El Niño phenomenon and these factors have escalated water demand, straining already scarce water resources and infrastructure.
ActionAid also noted that in the absence of Gender-Responsive Public Services (GRPS), women and girls are uniquely vulnerable, enduring harassment and rights violations at water points.
Joy Mabenge, Country Director of ActionAid Zimbabwe said, “The climate-induced humanitarian crises, compounded blink events like El Niño, have severely impacted communities’ ability to secure their livelihoods, especially those reliant on rain-fed agriculture and livestock and clean water has become a commodity, leaving poor communities deprived of this critical resource,”
Mabenge Further said that, budget allocations to Local Authorities and government agencies, such as the Rural Infrastructure Development Authority (RIDA) and Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA), failing to account for population growth and heightened demand for water and sanitation facilities, worsen water shortage situation in Zimbabwe.
Exodus Munkuli who is an SRHR activist based in Binga, highlighted the terrible situation where women and girls suffer the most in the absence of water.
Munkuli also said water is essential for various aspects of women and girls’ lives which include menstruation, childbirth, and household chores and the burden of water collection falls disproportionately on women, often in unsafe conditions.
Diana Harahwa, a youth activist also said patriarchy exacerbates women’s vulnerabilities as they bear the responsibility of providing water for their households, she mentioned that in Mbire, Hwange, Chiredzi, Victoria Falls, and Kariba districts, water scarcity intensifies human-wildlife conflict as both compete for the same limited resource.
Harahwa further said ActionAid Zimbabwe and other civil society organizations underscore the importance of meaningful participation by affected populations, particularly youth and women-led organizations, in shaping the recovery agenda.
She said access to adequate, clean, and safe water is a fundamental human right, the Zimbabwean government, with support from civil society organizations should implement measures for the guaranteed provision of water and sanitation facilities which includes involving every stakeholder in decision-making processes related to water provision.
