Against the current: how water access affects women and men differently — and how to change it

Registration link: Webinar-Registrierung - Zoom

In line with the UN’s 2026 World Water Day campaign ‘Where water flows, equality grows’, the Bonn Water Network invites you to its debate on changing roles of women in water management and governance. The story is not a new one: in many countries, women bear the brunt of water insecurity. They are the ones hauling heavy water jugs over kilometres, often exposed to harassment or sextortion along the way. They keep households and sometimes entire villages functioning when water is scarce – especially in communities with large male out-migration. In many regions, this has increasingly feminised water management and agricultural labour, making women the primary managers of household survival and community resilience. Yet despite this responsibility, women’s influence over water allocation remains limited - decisions about drinking water and irrigation flows are often still dominated by men. Nevertheless, gender-water dynamics are changing. These changes offer critical…