Women – water – sanitation: The case of Rimuka high-density suburb in Kadoma, Zimbabwe

abstract

Women, water and sanitation have a critical relationship. Women are often positioned at the centre in the provision of water and sanitation by virtue of their gender responsibility to perform the tasks necessary for household survival as mothers and carers. The city of Kadoma, in Zimbabwe has experienced serious water and sanitation problems for over a decade, with no water and sanitation supply reaching many thousands of households. Rimuka, a high density suburb in Kadoma, saw the water crisis grow from bad to worse until as a result of the unsanitary conditions the population was afflicted by cholera, a disease spread in conditions where drinking water is contaminated. As one of the crisis spots in the cholera epidemic in the city between 2008-2009, the study seeks first, to explain the reason for the water and sanitation crisis in Kadoma, second, to understand the situation of women, who perform the tasks of household maintenance and daily water collection in Rimuka where severe water shortages exist and third, some of the effects of the shortage for women and households. Interviews, observation and focus discussions were utilised in the study. The study recommends that water be made accessible and that the sewage reticulation be repaired and extended to meet the present needs of the population as part of sustainable development in consultation with women who have to shoulder a large part of the burden of the city's inability to deliver clean water, and the life threatening diseases that are a consequence.

Keywords:

• Women
• gender roles
• sanitation
• water
• Rimuka
• cholera