Water crisis hits women, girls hardest: UN

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 22: Despite decades of progress, inequalities continue to compromise global water security, disproportionally impacting women and girls, who, despite being the main collectors of water, continue to be excluded from water management and leadership roles.

This is the conclusion of the United Nations World Water Development Report, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water. The report reveals that women are responsible for collecting water in over 70 per cent of unserved rural households, said a press statement issued by UNESCO on Friday.

“Ensuring women’s participation in water management and governance is a key driver for progress and sustainable development. We must step up efforts to safeguard women and girls’ access to water. This is not only a basic right; when women have equal access to water, everyone benefits,” said Khaled El-Enany, UNESCO’s Director General.

“It is time to fully recognise the central role of women and girls in water solutions -- as users, leaders and professionals. We need women and men to manage water side by side as a common good that benefits the whole of society,” said Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Chair of UN-Water.

The United Nations World Water Development Report is released annually in the context of World Water Day. This year’s report, Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities, warns that 2.1 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, with women and girls bearing the heaviest burden.

Women and girls are most often responsible for collecting and managing water for their households, exposing them to physical strain, lost education and livelihoods, health risks, and heightened vulnerability to gender-based violence -- particularly where services are unsafe or unreliable.

According to the report, globally, women and girls spend a total of 250 million hours every day collecting water, time that could otherwise be spent on education, leisure, or income-generating activities.  Girls under 15 (7%) are more likely than boys under 15 (4%) to fetch water. Poor sanitation facilities disproportionately affect women and girls, especially in urban slums and rural areas. 

Lack of toilets and water for menstrual hygiene leads to shame and absenteeism: an estimated 10 million adolescent girls (15–19) across 41 countries missed school, work, or social activities between 2016 and 2022.