As Kenya and other African nations tackle water security challenges, one critical insight is emerging: women are not just victims of water scarcity, they are key to its solution.
In many communities, women and girls bear the heaviest burden of the global water crisis, spending an estimated 250 million hours each day collecting water for their households, according to Unicef, translating to several hours per woman per day.
World Vision reports that in developing regions, women and girls walk an average of six kilometres, carrying 20 litres of water daily.
This is more than just a routine chore, it is time stolen from education, income generation, and family care. When water sources are contaminated, women are the ones who care for sick family members, missing work and depleting household savings on preventable healthcare costs.
Education is also severely impacted as many adolescent girls drop out of school when they start menstruating due to a lack of clean water, private latrines, and sanitary supplies. This cycle perpetuates gender inequality across generations.
Yet, women are not just water collectors, they are water managers, making critical decisions on how to allocate limited resources for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and hygiene.
Transforming burden into opportunity recent initiatives in Kenya and other African countries highlight the power of gender-inclusive approaches to water solutions.
When women shift from being water carriers to solution providers, the benefits go far beyond improved health outcomes. Women-led distribution networks for water purification technologies are particularly effective in rural and peri-urban communities, as those who have experienced water insecurity firsthand are best placed to advocate for clean water solutions.
Studies show that women reinvest a larger share of their earnings into their families and communities than men. By earning from water-related enterprises, they fund their children’s education, enhance household nutrition, and often start additional businesses—creating a ripple effect of economic and social progress.
Traditional approaches to water security have often overlooked the cultural and social barriers that prevent lasting change.
For lasting change, we must move beyond treating women as either victims or volunteer labour in water security efforts. Instead, the focus should shift to building women’s capacity as leaders, entrepreneurs, and technical experts in the water sector. Recognising women as water champions, not just water carriers, is key to achieving universal access.
Infrastructure projects, while essential, do not always address the behavioural shifts needed for sustained adoption of safe water practices. Women community leaders and entrepreneurs are proving especially effective in bridging this gap. In many communities, water collection and management are seen as women's responsibilities, presenting both challenges and opportunities.
Male-dominated sales and distribution models often struggle to build trust, whereas women engaging with other women on shared challenges achieve significantly higher adoption rates.
At 4Life Solutions, we recognised this early on. As we expanded our SaWa solar water purification technology across Kenya, we made a strategic decision: instead of relying on traditional distribution channels, we partnered with Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organization (MYWO), Kenya’s largest women’s empowerment network.
The rationale was simple. Women already bear the burden of water collection and management, so why not transform this burden into an opportunity? Women intimately understand the health and economic costs of unsafe water, making them natural advocates for solutions. What we did not anticipate was how profoundly this approach would transform not just water access but also women's social and economic standing within their communities.
Turning the tide As we strive to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 6, ensuring clean water and sanitation for all, several policy shifts must be considered. Women must have substantive representation in water governance structures at all levels, from community water committees to national regulatory bodies, ensuring they move beyond token inclusion to meaningful decision-making authority.
Financial and legal barriers that prevent women from fully participating in water-related enterprises must be addressed, including reforms to property rights, inheritance laws, and access to credit and banking services.
Water and sanitation facilities must be designed with women's specific needs in mind, particularly in schools and healthcare settings, including appropriate menstrual hygiene management facilities and privacy considerations.
Additionally, investments should be made in women's technical education in water-related fields, from engineering to quality testing to maintenance, ensuring they have pathways to technical and leadership positions across the water sector. The water crisis in Africa remains urgent, with an estimated 400 million people lacking access to safe drinking water.
The challenge is particularly acute in rapidly growing urban settlements, where infrastructure lags behind population growth. Yet innovative, gender-inclusive business models offer promising paths forward.
Social enterprises, women's cooperatives, and public-private partnerships that centre women's leadership are demonstrating remarkable results across the continent. For lasting change, we must move beyond treating women as either victims or volunteer labour in water security efforts.
Instead, the focus should shift to building women's capacity as leaders, entrepreneurs, and technical experts in the water sector. Recognising women as water champions, not just water carriers, is key to achieving universal access.
The writer is the Managing Director, Africa 4Life Solutions
