Climate crisis aggravates women’s burden
By Nomzamo Gwebu
Nobuhle Moyo (25) lives in Pumula North suburb in Bulawayo metropolitan province. Nobuhle, who is a student at a local university says the climate crisis is causing untold suffering among women and girls in her community who walk long distances in order to get the precious liquid for domestic use.
“Before the onset of the climate crisis in the early 2000, there was no water rationing by the Bulawayo city council. We used to get potable water every day from the city council. The situation is drastically changing. These days our tapes are dry for five or more days in a week. When we finally get the water, it will be dirty and smelling. To survive the water scarcity, we travel for close to 3 or 4 kilometres to get water from some boreholes or shallow wells,” says Nobuhle.
Nobuhle says she lives with her mother and two siblings. She reveals that adds that she spends close to three hours a day fetching water and that she has to do her laundry in the bushes where some shallow wells have been dug by some desperate community members. She says some of the shallow wells are actually sewage water sipping from burst sewer pipes and is likely contaminated.
“These water sources are always congested by long queues and the water sometimes stops coming out. This has forced me to skip my lectures because I come back from fetching water tired and I will already be late for my lectures,” says Nobuhle.
Another young women living in Pumula North suburb, Soneni Dube (22) says some unscrupulous people were taking advantage of the water crisis to sell water to residents at exorbitant prices.
“It may not be surprising that the water crisis is being fueled by these corrupt people who may influence local authorities to cut off water supplies as a way of forcing residents to buy water from their bowsers. 50 litres of water is sold at US$3 or US$4 depending in the demand. An average household may spend US$400 yet using the water sparingly. This is against the city council water bill of around US$30 per month. I understand that the climate crisis is contributing to reduced water inflows into the city’s water sources but that does not warrant such prolonged water cuts,” says Soneni.
Soneni says the water situation is worsening the financial situation for many families who are already struggling to buy other basic needs. She says the situation is dire for young women and girls who risk violence or rape as they walk in the bushes to fetch water.
