Women as (Water) Carriers
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