WUNRN
World Water Day – March 22
Website of UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water & Sanitation:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/WaterAndSanitation/SRWater/Pages/SRWaterIndex.aspx
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http://water.org/water-crisis/womens-crisis/
FOR WOMEN – WATER IS PERSONAL – WEBSITE VIDEO: 3 WOMEN, 3
WATER STORIES
Water
Empowered Women Will Change the World
In many countries, women are responsible for finding and
fetching water for their families. All the water they need for drinking,
washing, cooking, cleaning. They walk miles, carry heavy burdens, wait for
hours and pay exorbitant prices. The work is back-breaking and all-consuming.
Often the water is contaminated, even deadly. In these instances, they face an
impossible choice – certain death without water or possible death from illness.
Once they are old enough, girls join this effort. They spend
countless hours trying to provide this basic life necessity.
Women also struggle most from the lack of adequate sanitation,
the often unspoken part of the water and sanitation crisis. The sanitation
crisis for women can be summed up in one word: ‘dignity.’ Around the world,
fewer than one person in three has access to a toilet. In many countries, it is
not acceptable for a woman to relieve herself during the day. They wait hours
for nightfall, just to have privacy. This impacts health and puts their safety
at risk. About half of all girls worldwide attend schools without toilets. The
lack of privacy causes many girls to drop out when they reach puberty.
The dual aspects of the water crisis – lack of water and of
sanitation – lock women in a cycle of poverty. They cannot attend school; they
cannot earn an income.
Providing Hope for Generations Ahead
Around the world, women are coming together to address their own
needs for water and sanitation. Their strength and courage transforms
communities. With the support of Water.org and its local partners, women
organize their communities to support a well and take out small loans for
household water connections and toilets. They support one another, share
responsibility. These efforts make an impact, taking us one step closer to
ending the global water crisis.
The results?
Education
·
Increased girls’ school attendance, level
of education and literacy rates, as they no longer need
to miss school to secure water for their families and have adequate and
separate sanitation facilities.
Health
·
Improved health for women and girls who
no longer have to delay defecation and urination.
·
Reduced child and maternal mortality as
a result of access to safe water, sanitation facilities and improved hygiene
during child birth.
·
Increased dignity and reduced
psychological stress for girls and women particularly when symptoms associated
with menstruation, pregnancy and childbirth can be managed discreetly.
·
Reduced physical injury from
constant lifting and carrying heavy loads of water.
·
Reduced risk of rape, sexual assault, and
increased safety as women and girls do not have to go to remote and
dangerous places to defecate or to fetch water during the night.
Socioeconomic Opportunity
·
Increased recognition of women as
having skills and knowledge outside the scope of their traditional roles.
·
Strengthened voice for women in
their families and communities to negotiate their own needs.
·
New opportunities for women’s employment as
well as greater autonomy and independence.