DIPLOMARBEIT - ÖH Uni Wien - Universität Wien

like muscle pains in legs, shoulders and hips or a deformation of the spine. Very oftenpregnant women continue carrying water until they give birth which can have negativeimplications for the child. The longer the mother has to walk, the more negative effects it hason the nutritional level of her child (Momsen 2004: 71). In addition, 50% of poor women allover the world are malnourished and lack iron. In rural areas women spend 30% of theirenergy on fetching water in the dry season (Ray/Boukerrou 2008) which can absorb about25% of a woman`s caloric intake (Momsen 2004: 71). Moreover, they are mostly exposed tosteady, polluted water in puddles and ponds and therefore at risk for parasites and waterbornediseases, like malaria, yellow and dengue fever (Momsen 2004: 91). But the problem thatcauses most deaths is the lack of hygiene and appropriate sanitation facilities. Unsafe waterleads to diarrhoea, which is related to malnutrition and is therefore especially dangerous tochildren. In fact, 1.4 million children die every year due to the consequences of lack ofhygiene. Further emerging diseases are pneumonia, a respiratory infection, trachoma whichcauses blindness, billharzia and scabies which are all transmitted through dirty water or lackof hygiene (WaterAid 2009: 2). “Each year, more than 2.2 million people in developingcountries die from preventable diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water,inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene” (UN WATER 2006: 5).In the 1950s and 60s water projects of the development cooperation focussed on the extensionof water provision as well as on the improvement of infrastructure and health care facilities. Itwas mostly men who were responsible for the implementation and management of these waterprojects, although already back then it was a fact that it is women who are mostly affected bywater issues. Nevertheless, they were excluded from water politics and the planning ofdistribution systems which is why water distribution systems had a lot of problems and werenot sustainable. Men were taught how to repair a well or a hand pump, but they were notaware of problems concerning them because during their daily lives they never come close toa water facility. As a consequence, the close water sources did not work and women again hadto use a polluted water source that was further away (Jackson/Pearson 1998: 254). In anotherwater project men had to choose the location of water points. They chose to build it far awayfrom the village because it was more convenient for them to water their livestock. As aconsequence, the women had to walk long distances to get water for domestic use.Development agencies tend to talk to the head of the households and local authorities aboutnew water projects. The problem is that due to patriarchal gender roles these people are39