BRIGHTON, UK, March 19 (IPS) – What is the World Water Day 2026 campaign focused on? Water and Gender – ‘Where water flows, equality thrives’ . While substantial progress has been achieved across a range of gender indicators linked to education, health and public participation, the situation around WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) is still marked by deep inequalities, with women and girls disproportionately affected – and this reflects the persistence of global patriarchy.
more than 2 billion people There is still a lack of access to safely managed drinking water. In houses which do not have piped water, Women and girls are responsible for approximately 70-80% of water collection trips Around the world, it takes anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours per day. This time could instead be usefully spent on education, productive activities or even leisure and leisure, but they have no choice.
The situation is even more serious in terms of sanitation as 3.4 billion people do not have access to safely managed sanitation. All this affects women’s and girls’ dignity, safety, security and the privacy and comfort needed for respectful menstrual health management. Additionally, there has been poor progress on women’s economic participation.
These patterns have remained remarkably persistent despite improvements in water and sanitation infrastructure. The time and labor required of poor women and girls in WASH activities, coupled with gender inequalities and power imbalances under the persistence of patriarchy, not only directly affects girls’ enrollment in education. But their capacity for productive economic activity is inevitably reduced.The net effect of which around the world is a huge hindrance to the progress of human development.
Water as a weapon of war against women and girls
Not only that, but the blatant generalization of wars and genocides carried out largely by men almost means Daily violations of international humanitarian law, including the weaponization of water and sanitation infrastructure as targets of attack. Recently, the United States’ Freshwater desalination plant bombed in Iran And Iran’s retaliation against another desalination plant in Bahrain set a dangerous new precedent.
When water and sanitation infrastructure becomes fair game in war, as we have seen in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine over the past few years, existing gender inequalities around water and sanitation mean that women and girls suffer the most, leading to increased risks, including sexual violence.
Male violence and hatred are back
What we are seeing in real time and online is even more worrying. This is a resurgence of a more overt patriarchy seeking control over women’s lives and subordination to traditional roles away from public life. From cuts to diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs to rolling back reproductive rights around the world from the United States to Chile, the resurgence of ‘toxic masculinity’ is pushing gender rights, feminism and equality off the agenda and equating them with pejorative notions of ‘vocalism’.
Some organizations are already reframing the debates in response. For example, the World Bank is increasingly framing gender as a matter of economic activity and jobs rather than rights. This is reflected in their new look water mission The implementation strategy that refers to employment but only mentions gender six times and women four times, even though gross disparities in the labor force and economic impacts, as stated above, are so vast.
Gender backlash and reductionism in determining rights serves to reinforce stereotypes and accepted norms, including the gendered division of labor in water collection, rather than confronting it more forcefully – and, at the very least, asking why this is the case rather than accepting it as given.
If the idea that women and girls are responsible for water-related subsistence tasks persists, it ignores specific needs related to sanitation and menstrual hygiene and increases male dominance in decision-making and water management. This is exactly what patriarchy wants to achieve – domination and subordination.
Rollback continues on funding for WASH
A year ago Keir Starmer cut the UK aid budget by almost 40 percent. These cuts have been devastating to water and sanitation progress in some of the world’s poorest and most war-torn countries, with direct and lasting consequences for women and girls. The cuts particularly affect countries like Sudan, Ethiopia and Palestine, which already struggle with largely male-driven wars, conflicts and genocide.
It is estimated that around 12 million people will be denied access to clean water and sanitation As a result. These cuts directly impact gender equality as reduced access to water and sanitation impacts schooling, work Risk of gender-based violence increases.
The UK justifies the cuts by moving away from direct assistance towards strengthening capacities and partnerships around WASH. But these partnerships between the UK and Global South countries like Nigeria are focusing on development. Reducing reliance on jobs and aid could have adverse effects as more and more people’s health deterioratesIncluding more women suffering from poor health and chronic diseases.
Ultimately, a weak collective effort to support gender equality in WASH provision opens the door to a long-term decline in gender rights and economic development. Additionally, dismantling USAID is already having devastating consequences for gender equality and women’s health. When there needs to be more focus on WASH projects to ensure we are not falling behind on gender rights, aid is being cut.
In short, persistent inequalities, gender backlash, illegal and perpetual wars, and aid cuts in the absence of ethical guidance have weakened global collective action on gender inequality. The least that policy-makers can do is to achieve and sustain leadership that realizes human rights for all in WASH provision, a key rationale for which is a greater focus on the social and economic empowerment of women and girls.
Any other direction would be disastrous, deepening the roots of patriarchy and misogyny in global society.
Professor Lyla Mehta Professorial Fellow at IDS and Visiting Professor at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Noragrik. He trained as a sociologist (University of Vienna) and has a PhD in Development Studies (University of Sussex).
Dr. Alan Nicol Strategic program leader promoting sustainable development at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
IPS UN Bureau
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