World Water Day is celebrated and recognised on the 22rd March each year. This year is no different. The United Nations chose to connect and celebrate World Water Day 2026 in the context of equality, namely gender equality with a focus on women.
Let us manage water with equality. We appreciate that where there is water, plants grow, communities can grow, animals and humans can survive and prosper. But the question is whether there is equality where there is water. A great thought to ponder from many different perspectives.
A simple yet critical question is multifaceted. Is there water? Is the water clean? Is the water safe to drink? Is there enough water? Who has access to the water? Do animals walk through, even urinate in it? Is the water close to the village, their dwelling, the agricultural fields, to industry, to urban expansion. And the questions never cease.
Water is an essential, a critical element all across the globe. But there is not necessarily equality in the distribution or use of the water. And this leads to gender inequality as well. If there is water at a distance, if water is unclean, if there is poor sanitation in the village or rural area, and even in poorer urban dwellings, there can be inequality. Where these inequalities exist and even flourish, the burden often falls on the women and girls. They carry the burden associated with access to the water resource.
You might wonder what is it that is referred to as water inequality. Women collect water. Women may walk many kilometers to fetch water. Women carry the water often using their head muscles. So women manage the water situation.
The water may be unclean and so is unsafe to drink or even cook with. The women care for the sick members in their family, and within their community. They care for people made sick by unsafe water. While carrying out these extra tasks of caring for the sick, they use their precious energy and time. They are also exposed to the same illnesses. They are prevented of opportunities to work in other capacities.
As well as these domestic challenges, the women are not part of the decision making process regarding where to retrieve water from, how to retrieve the water. Age-old practices determine the process in many cases. If there are funding agencies or projects aiding and assisting with retrieving water, women are not included in the negotiations. The women do not hold any leadership or position of authority in many instances. Without engaging women and their input and experiences with water, any water issues and concerns, also become women’s issues and concerns. But with no voice.
There is a desperate need to engage the water bearers. Let them have a voice in water management projects. This often means a change in societal processes and procedures. But the voice of women needs to be heard. Since they are the dominate water fetcher, they need to be involved in the processes of planning and designing water facilities. And this is necessary at all levels from village demands, farming practices, crop irrigation, personal hygiene demands into higher level situations with hydro-engineers and irrigation management, etc.
As life continues to become more complex even threatening due to changes in climate, increasing natural disasters, there is need, even urgent need for persons to have a greater engagement and responsibility for the use, protection and preservation of natural resources, and especially water resources. There is an even greater demand for resilience and beast practice at all levels of society. This needs to involve all members of the community regardless of their age or gender.
The concept of sustainability and survival is better achieved by ensuring gender equalities in all matters that concern human survival in what is becoming an even harsher environment than ever before. There is need to focus on all creatures to ensure the benefit of all are met through the benefits for all, anywhere on the planet.
Three points worth keeping in mind is that the global water crisis affects everyone, but not equally. Women can be effectively engaged in shaping and managing water and its associated services. And by working fairly and effectively, it is feasible for equality to grow and flourish as water flows to all corners of the globe meeting the needs of all.
