Water, Life and Human rights

"Change in mind-set required to view women
as agents of change rather than as victims"

WfWP President Mariet Verhoef-Cohen spoke Monday 11 December 2017 at The Water, Life and Human rights conference in Brasil. The event is one of a series being held in preparation of the next World Water Forum, hosted by Brasil in March 2018

Most of us don’t think much about having an ample supply of safe water. Turning on the kitchen tap or running a bath is usually an effortless decision. Yet, when we flush the toilet, we use as much water as most people in Kenya use in an entire day. (Slide 2 )

Imagine what that day is like. You spend six hours fetching and carrying heavy containers of water across a dangerous path. Once you get the water home, you conserve and manage every drop to have enough for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing the kids, and watering the vegetable garden that prevents your family from going hungry. Since the water is untreated, you never know what kind of microbes or pollutants you and your family are drinking.

For many rural women, that imaginary day is every day. For those who live in cities, water is just as scarce and unsafe because of economic policies that reward pollution and price clean water out of reach.”

Distinguished guests, dear friends,

This short introduction is telling: we need to change the current situation and make sure that all people have equal access to safe water and sanitation. In other words, we need to implement SDG 6 – not only in Africa, but in all parts of the world.

According to the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 30% of the world’s population does not have access to potable and safe water services at home, and 60% of the population worldwide does not have adequate sanitation.

Many countries do not even have data on the quality of their water and sanitation services. In Brazil the existing data have not been controlled, but according to the report released last week, 97% of the Brazilian population has access to drinking water, but only 86% have basic sanitation services. The disparities between urban and rural areas are large: While 91% of the urban population has basic sanitation, only 58% of the population has access to these services in the rural areas. The same is true with regard to drinking water, with 99% of the urban population accessing this service, compared to 87% in rural areas.

Women are important players in achieving SDG 6 and we, the members of Women for Water Partnership, have ample experience in this sector. I am delighted to share our experience with you and talk about Water, Life and Human Rights based on examples of women’s groups in rural areas.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in Article 1 that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights’. In fact it is the ‘mother’ of all other articles on human rights and the most important one to bear in mind and implement. Water and its management are fundamental to the realization of a range of human rights, be it the right to life, the right to health, the right to food etcetera. (Slide 3 )

Having access to safe drinking water and sanitation is central to living a life in dignity and upholding human rights. Yet, billions of people still do not enjoy these fundamental rights. The rights to water and sanitation require that these are available, accessible, safe, acceptable and affordable for all – without discrimination. These issues are clearly interrelated. While access to water may be guaranteed in theory, in reality many people do not have access. Women will not use sanitation facilities which are not maintained or are not safe. Having a tap which delivers unsafe water does not improve one’s access. Human rights demand a holistic understanding of access to water and sanitation.

Women and girls experience discrimination and inequalities in the enjoyment of their right to water and sanitation in various ways. In many countries women are responsible for fetching clean drinking water for the family, providing water to grow vegetables or using water for their business etc.

Women are more vulnerable to the consequences from water and sanitation related diseases when they are pregnant. In addition, safe water and adequate hygiene are key to preventing neonatal deaths. Women and girls are also predominantly responsible for caring for relatives who have become ill as a result of unsafe water and sanitation. Girls are known to drop out of school because of their caring duties and domestic tasks or when sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities are not available at schools. The consequent lack of schooling and education opportunities as well as the burden of unpaid care responsibilities are all factors that discriminate against women in the labour market. Women and girls are also at risk of physical, mental and sexual violence when they travel long distances to fetch water, visit public toilet blocks or go out at night for open defecation. In a study conducted by Amnesty International, women and girls suffered from rape and other forms of sexual violence while attempting to use toilets mostly at night, and sometimes even during the day. (Slide 4)

Women’s sanitation requirements are often not considered, particularly with regard to menstrual hygiene management, in countries where taboos deter women from voicing their needs and prohibit their active involvement in decision-making and planning processes. The taboos and the stigma surrounding menstruation contribute to the lack of attention to this natural function. On average, a woman menstruates 3,500 days of her life, yet little attention is given to her menstrual hygiene needs. Many girls are forced to use unhygienic sanitary methods, such as rags, dirt, ashes or newspaper to collect menstrual fluid as other methods are unaffordable, unavailable or unknown. Many traditional practices or beliefs consider menstruating women unclean or impure. (Slide 5)

It is important to note that taboos and stigmas surrounding menstruation are widespread globally, also here in Brazil. In an experiment in the USA, participants were exposed to a woman who ostensibly accidentally dropped either a tampon or hair clip from her handbag. Dropping the tampon led to lower evaluations of her competence, decreased liking for her and a tendency to avoid sitting close to her.

Equality between women and men is a basic human right, but equality of women and men in law does not automatically lead to a change on the ground, as inequalities are often deeply rooted in society. Especially rural women and girls face persistent structural constraints that prevent them from fully enjoying their human rights and hamper their efforts to improve their lives and the lives of their extended families. Rural women, in particular, face multiple forms of deprivations and discrimination as well as major barriers to access productive resources. Furthermore, there is little recognition of the burden women bear as water managers and cleaners, mainly because this work is not remunerated.

This is a bleak, but unfortunately a realistic picture in many countries, and I fear also in some parts of Brazil. How can we change and improve the situation? On 28 July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized the human right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. How can we make sure that the human right to water and SDG 6, is being implemented? And how can women contribute?

The fact that women are responsible for fetching water and, for example, in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa spend the equivalent of 16 million woman hours every day collecting water has also a positive side: It clearly shows how much experience women have with water!

And we, the twenty-seven members of Women for Water Partnership, have taken it upon ourselves to draw attention to the important role women play as experts, agents of change and partners in achieving equal access to safe water and sanitation. (Slide 6)

I would like to point out an example of one of our members in Tanzania, where women took the lead to get access to water. It was a steep learning process with many ups and downs, but an empowering experience for these women. In the meantime, they have attained different kinds of leadership roles in their communities.

The example is of Tegemeo Women group, a small local women’s group, based in a remote area up in the mountains in Tanzania. Tegemeo is Swahili and means ‘support’ as well as ‘expectations’. (Slide 7)

Both support and expectations were low when Tegemeo took the initiative to start a project to serve some 12,000 citizens in their area with clean water facilities.

The initiative faced scepticism from the water sector and authorities. What on earth would local women know about water? Donors too were reluctant to support the project too, since it was led by grassroots women. Equally, Tegemeo Women Group and the people in their communities were sceptical as well, having seen too many consultants and development organisations passing by without delivering lasting improvements to their situation. The corrupt practices of a local project manager and contractors and unprecedented bad weather conditions during the building phase further complicated matters. And these were just some of the many challenges Tegemeo had to overcome.

Yet, within ten years Tegemeo exceeded even its own expectations. Today, all people have access to safe water. They understand much more about the importance of hygiene and adequate sanitation. Children can attend school four hours more per week because access to water is near. They receive healthy meals because of water for school vegetable gardens. The economic development of the entire community has also been boosted. (Slide 8)

And: women in that area now fully and prominently participate in all decision-making on water and sanitation issues in their area.

Today, Tegemeo is a highly competent member organisation capable of project oversight and financial administration. Tegemeo members have become trainers in sanitation, hygiene and women rights. WfWP and its members in Tanzania were an indispensable factor in the empowerment of Tegemeo. We supported the project with a small grant to strengthen the capacity of the organisation. Local women were coached to lead the process and ensure full involvement of community and local authorities from the onset. We helped develop the water and sanitation scheme and guided Tegemeo’s pivotal role in establishing the water users association. (Slide 9)

The fact that Tegemeo was able to take the lead in the design phase of the project has essentially contributed to its success and sustainability.

Tegemeo is a textbook example of how effective and important empowerment and capacity-building of rural women groups are for the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 6.

The example of Tegemeo shows that women must be involved in decision-making, designing and implementing of projects that potentially influence their human rights. It is an important measure for each country or organisation in changing the present situation. Experience shows that having at least 40% of women in water governing bodies helps ensure their voices are actually heard. We want women to stand up, raise their voices and demand attention! And on the other hand, service providers and authorities must ensure that the voices of women and girls are being heard. (Slide 10)

Participation strengthens democracy, ensures better implementation and enhances the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions. It leads to an increased knowledge on local conditions and local needs, which is indispensable for any sustainable intervention. Moreover, participation is not just an effective approach that may be adopted – it is mandatory. Participation is a human rights principle and firmly grounded in international law.

Besides guaranteeing effective participation, what else can we do to achieve equal access to safe water and sanitation for all and ensure that the rights to water and sanitation are being respected – meaning that water is available, accessible, safe, acceptable and affordable for all without discrimination?

It is of utmost importance to collect good data to know who has access and who doesn’t. It is impossible to evaluate water access without looking at the matter from both men’s and women’s point of view. For example, there are many cases where boreholes are being drilled and thus, according to the statistics, there is access to clean drinking water. But often the women do not actually make use of these boreholes because it is not in a safe environment. They are afraid of being sexually harassed, or worse. Therefore, unless you are prepared to look at the situation through the lens of women, you will never find out why this borehole is not used.

Secondly, women and men are different types of users. So, it is important to look at access to water and sanitation through the lens of both women and men, and to collect the data accordingly in order to realistically monitor the implementation of the SDGs as well as the human right to water and sanitation.

Last but not least, a change in the mind-set is required to view women as agents of change rather than as victims, vulnerable groups or only beneficiaries, as shown in the example of Tegemeo. Due to their experience with water, women have tangible knowledge of water management: women are experts, leaders and agents of change in achieving access to water and sanitation for all. Promoting this universal truth is the mission of Women for Water Partnership.