While India has made remarkable progress in expanding household access to water, the National Sample Survey 78th round multiple indicator survey (2020-21) suggests that over 41% of rural households lack access to safely managed drinking water within their households, and geographical disparities in household access to safe water, though declining, continue to persist. The distance to the principal source of drinking water for these households falls in the range of 0.2 to 1.5 km or more. India makes up 18% of the world’s population, with a share of water resources of less than 5%.
Evidence suggests that lack of access to water can cause considerable stress among households. In water-scarce areas or among households whose principal water source lies outside their household premises, water collection is typically perceived as a gendered activity, with the time burden of collecting water inevitably falling on women and girls of the household. Water insecurity affects women’s everyday lives, household dynamics, and social relationships. It also affects the school attendance and academic performance of girls. Women also face gender-based violence during the commute for water collection, which has an adverse impact on their mental health.
Research suggests that lack of access to adequate water leads to the practice of open defecation. This, in turn, has a multitude of effects on women. Apart from the health impacts like diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera, and impacts on menstrual health, women who practise open defecation also face psychosocial stress as well as a greater risk of non-partner sexual violence.
