The Burden of Thirst

Information flows to every corner of the world much like movements of the water cycle, connecting people more than ever before. But nothing separates us more than the inequality that exists in access to water. Nearly 900 million people lack access to clean water, and more than 3.3 million – most children under age five – die each year as a result. In many developing countries, the brunt of the inequality rests with women. In southwestern Ethiopia, women and young girls spend at least eight hours everyday collecting water, often from polluted or nearly dry streams. Some trips are for water used to make homemade beer for husbands. Herein is a second inequality: Men are not expected to fetch water, and women are ostracized should they try to liberate themselves from this “vicious circle of inequality.” Tina Rosenberg of National Geographic reveals the trials of collecting water in developing countries and efforts of the international community to alleviate women’s burden. – YaleGlobal