Access to clean water can put an end to gender-based violence

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In Kampala’s leafy suburbs, water runs smoothly from glistening taps as residents go about their day-to-day personal hygiene routine, laundry, cooking and even mopping the house.

To them, like other millions of people living relatively privileged lives, the question of water quality has never been a subject to discuss at the dining table. This is because all is well in their relationships: husbands love and respect their wives, and ditto.

However, 116km away from the capital, Kampala is Mayuge district in the east, where water is an integral part of the marital union. It is so important that its abundance ensures marital union while its absence leads to marital ruin.

Mariam Nabirye, a resident of Namadhi Beach village in Mayuge, explains the pivotal role water plays in marriage.

“Gender-based violence was rampant because the borehole was far away so we would delay to return home. We would leave home at 9 a.m. and return at 3p.m. [Our] men would beat us [for the delay],” she says.

Faizol Jugo Ali, another Mayuge resident, attests to how dire a lack of water is in Mayuge that it turns husbands against wives.

“Gender-based violence is rampant. A wife would spend four hours to collect water. Some men would get mad and beat their wives. There were seasonal ponds in valleys, where people would dig and get water," he says, ironically, Mayuge is surrounded by the waters of L. Victoria, yet it suffers a lack of clean and safe water.

“We are surrounded by the lake, but we did not have clean and safe water. We used to get water straight from the lake,” he says.

“The lake has seasons when the tide is high and the water becomes murky. We would get black or dark brown water during such seasons when the hyacinth would rot,” says Ali.

“Water is a serious issue”

According to Rosette Suzan Nanyanzi, a gender advisor at the Ministry of Education, a lack of water is a serious issue. 

“Of course, [a lack of water] is an issue. As we talk about GBV, you will find that if the distance is long, and in most cases, it is the women and girls who go to fetch water and firewood. At the end of the day, for the girl child, what is likely to happen if she takes that long distance to fetch water, she is likely to be defiled. For the woman, who is fetching water for her family, in most cases because of the time she spends there and takes long to prepare supper that can also be another driver of violence.

“And then, the men in Busoga have that belief of owning women, you may find that also drives GBV. He may put her to task to explain what she has been doing. At the end of the day, the men are free to punish the women for what they have done—delaying to return home to prepare food.

“You also realise that if water is very far away from the family, of this child who is going to fetch water, she may face issues. She is prone to getting pregnant early and even their women may get children outside the marriage as some other men, who are better off, can actually take advantage of this woman by giving her freebies.”

She adds: “Water is an issue and it is widespread. I personally interface with it in education and we find that some of the girls that have become pregnant got pregnant when they were simply looking for firewood or water. So, it is a serious issue.”

Interventions

“For us, in the school setting, we are giving these young boys and girls life skills so that when they go to fetch water, they are able to make decisions that will not impact their education negatively. We have opportunities to speak about such things with the young people. We are also looking at empowering boys as allies because when it comes to issues of pregnancy, men and boys are involved. We cannot continue addressing this issue with the girls alone; the boys need to talk about this issue with fellow boys so that they protect their sisters.”

The government has also got partners who help bring clean and safe water to communities in dire straits. Living Water International (LWI) is one such partner, which has brought water to communities across Uganda.

Peace Tumushabe, the LWI programme officer said they have brought safe water and best sanitation and hygiene practices to Ntungamo, Kiruhura, Ibanda, Wakiso, Moyo, Obongi, Mukono, Mityana, and Mayuge, among others.