Gender and community mobilisation for urban water infrastructure investment in southern Nigeria

Abstract

Although women in urban households in Nigeria are primarily responsible for sourcing and managing domestic water supplies, their responses to problems with obtaining water have to be negotiated within the context of gender power relations, roles and responsibilities, both within and outside the household. This article, focusing on women in poor communities in Lagos and Benin City, Nigeria, shows that there is some relationship between women's desire to organise for water improvements, and membership in voluntary associations. However, women are generally unable to influence decision-making in the sector through voluntary associations, and are excluded from actual participation in the business of water supply and the associated economic opportunities.

Keywords:

• gender
• development
• water
• urban
• Nigeria
• Africa

Notes

1. Summary population totals for local government areas and states come from the 2006 census national and state provisional totals, published by the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics, available online at: http://nigerianstat.gov.ng/Connections/Pop2006.pdf. Additional provisional census data by local government area were provided by the GIS mapping company, 3d Technologies.

2. The project was carried out in cooperation with the University of Lagos, Faculty of Arts, and University of Benin and the Global Educational Initiative for Nigeria. To carry out household data collection, the author solicited the assistance of two non-government organisations – Pan African Vision for the Environment in Lagos and the Koyenum Immalah Foundation in Benin City to manage fieldwork. Both organisations are part of the National Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation in Nigeria.

3. The survey consisted of 93 questions, including questions from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys about household access to water, sanitation and household wealth (National Population Commission Federal Republic of Nigeria and ORC Macro 2004). Additional variables on ethnicity and voluntary associations were taken from the 1980 Demographic Survey of Households, Housing and Living Conditions in Lagos (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa 1980).

4. Faith Nwadishi, Director of the Koyenum Immalah Foundation in Edo State, whose organisation works on national youth policy, described this culture while talking about expectations of deference among youth in Nigeria, where youth extends into the early 30s. Nwadishi served as Project Supervisor for the project in Benin City.

5. NEPA is the old name of the national energy company, and stood for National Electric Power Authority. In 2005, the company was privatised and became the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charisma Acey

Charisma Acey is Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning at the Ohio State University