Posts

A reflection

  As we are drawn to the end of my blog series, I’d like to pause and reflect on my journey.   At the beginning, I was convinced I had a good knowledge about the topic, especially as I had strong ties to Africa, since both my parents were from Africa. However, as the weeks progressed, I realised how wrong I was and how multi-layered and complex this topic actually was.     In Week 1, After reading Wainana’s article , I was positive I wouldn’t fall into the same trap of seeing African women as a disappointment and those who hinder the process of development. But as the blogs unfolded, I couldn’t help but focus on struggles which these women faced when collecting water and the negative physical, economic and social impacts this posed on them. I realise this was because most of the discourse I read, were written by scholars from the Global North who rarely focused on the positive experiences. I learnt how impactful the stereotypes that Wainana had mentioned really are, and how much change
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Climate Change or Climate Emergency?

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 Introduction Climate change is a critical factor in current and future changes to the water cycle. The sad reality is whilst African nations contribute the least to global emissions, they are most affected by the impacts of climate change, due to the over reliance on the natural environment. Currently,    9 out of 10 of the most vulnerable countries to climate change are in Sub Saharan Africa alone.  Furthermore, climate change is not gender neutral. Because of their economic marginalisation, political disenfranchisement and differentiated labour responsibilities, women are most severely affected by climate change.  This blog will look at the disproportionate effects of climate change through the lens of ‘intersectional feminism’ . This video by  Simavi , summarises the topics I've covered in my blogs. The impacts of climate change on women's agricultural productivity  Increased climate variability reduces agricultural productivity posing unequal impacts on women’s natural, s
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Mathare's Sanitation Struggle

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Introduction Following on from my previous blog, we can see how women and girls are at danger when they collect water or openly defecate. Open defecation is prevalent across Africa (as seen in Figure 1) , with Eritrea having the highest number of people openly defecating (67%), followed by Chad (64%). These women are often violently confronted by men at the water point queues, water fetching paths and open defecation routes.  This blog will explore some of these dangers, as well as looking at possible solutions. It will look at the right to sanitation in an ‘endangered’ manner.  Figure 1: People practising open defecation in Africa (% of population) WHO/UNICEF 2019 Problems of inadequate WASH facilities  Poor sanitation facilities creates discomfort and insecurity for millions of women in Africa. Women often leave before dawn or after nightfall to maintain privacy. When women wait till dark to use the toilet, they drink less during the day, resulting in health problems such as chronic
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Who gives a shit?

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Introduction Excuse my language, but who really gives a shit about shit? Africa is growing three times faster than the global average. It is projected that by 2050, Sub Saharan Africa’s population will double to 2.5 billion by 2050 and by 2070, it will be the most populous place globally. Overpopulation has resulted in a growth of informal settlements, corruption in governance, inadequate urban planning and limited access to water resources. ‘World Toilet Day’ is celebrated on 19 November every year, to address the sanitation crises. Although toilets are a basic human right, there are still 2.3 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. The UN states that in order to fulfil SDG 6.2 ‘water and sanitation for all and end open defecation’, the world needs to work 4 times harder than it already is.   The politics of sanitation Sanitation is often overlooked in development efforts.  As   George (2008:76)   states ‘Sanitation was always an afterthought, if considered at all.’   In
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Breaking the bloody taboos around menstruation

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  What is period poverty? Period poverty is defined as the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, education and facilities due to financial constraints. It is often coupled with the term 'Menstrual hygiene management' (MHM) which outlines specific hygiene and health requirements of periods.  In Africa, women are unable to access menstrual products and dispose of menstrual waste safely due to the inadequate WASH facilities which leads to negative physical, social and economic consequences.  Due to the discriminatory patriarchal norms which result in period shame, On 28 May 2013, WASH United created  ‘Menstrual Hygiene Day’  to create awareness. A Video created by the World Bank to promote Menstrual Hygiene Day 2022. The shame and stigma surrounding periods. In African communities, periods are deeply stigmatised and associated with shame and taboo. Many girls are led to believe that periods are ‘unclean’ and often feel ashamed and stressed when they menstruate. The strugg
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Women as (Water) Carriers

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Introduction Welcome to my first blog! Africa has and will always be a place close to my heart. With my mother being born in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and my father born in Nairobi, Kenya, I have visited Africa numerous times and have witnessed first-hand the devastating impacts of water scarcity. This blog aims contextualise the role of gender within water and development discourse by specifically focusing on the role women play in water collection in Africa. Africa: Context and Portrayal Africa's history has been significantly impacted by Europe's influence of the continent. 21st century problems of development are echoed by European colonialism, particularly the  Scramble for Africa, the slave trade and the ongoing exploitation  of its people and resources. As a result,  Western media and literature has framed Africa as a place that needs to be saved. We see this in  Wainana’s (2005) satirical article, where he presents  Africa as a heterogeneous and harmonious nation, whereb
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