As Malawi marked World Water Day under the theme Water and Gender Equality, the message delivered in Liwonde by Deputy Minister Thoko Tembo was as sobering as it was timely: the country is not on track to achieve universal access to safe water and sanitation. The numbers tell part of the story. About 73 percent of Malawians have access to basic drinking water, but only 18.7 percent enjoy safely managed water at home.
Over half the population still relies on sources outside their households, while 11 percent depend on unsafe water. But beneath these figures lies the fact that Malawi’s water crisis is also a gender equality crisis. This year’s theme calls for a reckoning with how unequal access to water continues to shape the lives of women and girls in ways that are both limiting and unjust, and how this, in turn, threatens the country’s broader development goals, including the Malawi 2063 (MW2063) Vision.
In many parts of Malawi, water is a daily pursuit which, for women and girls, comes at a cost that is often overlooked. While policy discussions focus on infrastructure and financing, the reality is that women wake before sunrise to endure long walks and long queues at distant water points. This is where the issue of time poverty becomes stark.
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Hours spent fetching water are hours taken away from education and economic productivity. For a school-going girl, this can mean falling behind in class or dropping out entirely. For women, it means reduced opportunities to engage in income-generating activities.
When half the population is constrained in this way, the ripple effects are felt across households, communities, and the national economy. The burden is not only measured in time. Carrying heavy containers over long distances takes a physical toll often resulting in chronic pain, exhaustion and, in some cases, lasting injury.
Pregnant and postpartum women are rarely spared. Accessing water, a basic necessity, becomes a daily health risk. There is also the question of safety.
As women and girls travel long distances, sometimes before dawn or after dusk, to access water in isolated places, they are exposed to harassment and violence. That access to water can come at the cost of personal security is a reality that demands urgent attention. Health outcomes are equally intertwined.
Where safe water is unavailable, families resort to unsafe sources, increasing the risk of diseases such as cholera and typhoid. Women, as primary caregivers, shoulder the added burden of tending to the sick, further stretching already limited time and resources. For adolescent girls, the challenge deepens during menstruation.
Without reliable access to clean water, maintaining hygiene becomes difficult and, at times, undignified. Many miss school altogether, not because they lack ambition, but because the conditions do not allow them to participate fully. All this is unfolding against a backdrop of fragile infrastructure and intensifying climate shocks.
Droughts and floods continue to disrupt water systems, with rural communities, especially women and girls, bearing the brunt. While there are signs of progress, such as the Liwonde-Balaka Water Supply System Project that point to a commitment to improving access, infrastructure alone is not enough. What is required is intent.
Bringing water closer to households must be a priority- -not just as a service delivery goal but as a gender equality intervention. Reducing distance reduces burden. It frees up time, restores dignity and expands opportunity.
Equally important is shifting who participates in the water sector. Women must not only be beneficiaries but decision-makers; trained as technicians, represented in water committees and empowered to shape how systems are run. Governance matters too.
Community water systems must be managed transparently and inclusively, while urban water kiosks should provide reliable and fairly priced services. Without accountability, access can easily give way to exploitation.
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