In underserved settlements of Accra, Ghana and Cape Town, South Africa, men and women
both work to negotiate access to water on a daily basis. In a community such as Teshie in
Accra, residents might travel several minutes carrying heavy water buckets from a nearby
vendor, perhaps making several trips in a day to meet household needs. In South Africa, in a
community such as Khayletisha, some residents have in-home access through a tap in newly
built Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) homes1
, while others might walk up to
50 meters to a communal standpipe to fill buckets as needed. The particular experiences of
women are frequently highlighted as central for questions of water access and conditions,
with the linked suggestion that women are likely to be among the most vulnerable to access
challenges or fluctuations in water quality or quantity. The focus on women’s specific
experiences has also been highlighted in policy discourses, for instance, with the third Dublin
principle stating that ‘women play a central role in the provision, management, and
safeguarding of water’ (Dublin Principles 1992). As such, work of the past several decades
has highlighted the need to explicitly interrogate the gendered aspects of water access, uses,
and conditions. Feminist political ecologists, in particular, have contributed to our
understanding of gender-water linkages in diverse contexts, with particular focus on genderdifferentiated:
1) Access and uses of water
2) Knowledges of water and water related institutions
3) Participation in governance
4) Lived experiences and emotional dimensions of water use, access, and governance