Concluding Thoughts

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Wow! I can’t believe it's over! 

Over the course of this blog, I have learnt so much about this interesting topic, and hope that you have learnt something too. Along this journey, I have aimed to shed light on this complex matter by initially uncovering the link between water and gender, then moving on to how women are disproportionally affected by a lack of water and sanitation services. I then finally uncovered different initiatives that have been put into place to alleviate this inequality. A reoccurring theme that has persisted throughout all of my blog posts is that while women are undergoing this inequality, for development to occur, efforts should be made by different levels of institutions to: 

1. Distribute already available water resources equally and equitably (by..) 

2. Put in place education initiatives to reduce stigma and cultural norms that exacerbate inequalities (to then be able to...) 

3. Engage women as agents of change e.g. decision-making 

There is still a long way to go into distributing water resources equally to reduce these inequalities, but this blog has demonstrated how recognising women as stakeholders is a step in the right direction to alleviating the problems mentioned in previous posts, to then facilitate development. To continue to create real change, efforts should be made from a variety of institutions to collectively alleviate the problem on all levels. This includes place-specific efforts from international players, state governments and NGOs through both targetted top-down and bottom-up initiatives embracing a feminist lens to aid the distribution of the water resource. 

While I have focused on water and gender in the development of Africa, there have been a few things I have noticed throughout my research process. A lot of the literature that dominates this field is written from an outsider’s perspective. Moving forward, I hope to see more publications from people who are from the different countries of Africa dominate these fields as we know from this blog that giving people agency is the way forward. 

Going back to my introductory post, Wainaina’s words shadowed me throughout the process of me writing this blog, and in this, I hope to have provided a clear, concise and unbiased view on the topics I have discussed. 

All the best!

Comments

  1. Greta Feddersen4 January 2022 at 02:27

    Chloe! All your blog posts have been engaging and interesting, and your voice has shone throughout. As you mentioned, I also noticed that the literature within this field is greatly dominated by outsider voices, and it would be great to see more literature from women, in particular, within Africa to dominate these fields in coming years. I like how you highlighted three efforts which policy approach should focus on going forward. Whilst the topics within gender & development vary (sanitation, water collection, period poverty etc.), many of the 'solutions' which could alleviate women's burdens are parallel across the topics. Overall, your research was excellent and I really enjoyed the post on Coca-Cola in particular! All the best.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chloe9 January 2022 at 08:03

      Hey Greta! Thank you so much for your kind words!! I'm glad to have taken you on this journey and especially glad you enjoyed my coca-cola post!

      Delete

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