Water Supply for African Communities.Gender Dimension of the Problem

Abstract

The article examines the role of the female part of the population of various African countries in providing rural communities with water, which is traditionally the responsibility of women and girls. In this regard, emphasis is placed on the negative impact of this labor-intensive process on their health and the possibility of obtaining education with maximum employment in the domestic sector. It is emphasized that to date, in the public consciousness of the population of many African countries, the stereotype of the secondary nature of women to men remains, which is manifested, in particular, in the management of water resources. Examples of international organizations cooperating with African countries and applying a gender-sensitive approach in their activities are given. The authors come to the conclusion that the involvement of the female part of the population in the management of the use of water sources would help communities to manage this natural resource more rationally and would be a factor in eliminating gender disparity in women’s access to socially significant decision-making. At the same time, solving the problem of adequate access of the female population to water resources management is a matter of the distant future.