Women’s rights to water and sanitation: elements of a joint action agenda

This policy brief identifies concrete steps policy makers can take to advance gender equality and the rights of women, girls, and trans and non-binary people through increased access to water, sanitation and hygiene.

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action on women's rights, WaterAid and ActionAid organised an online consultation on gender and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in June and July 2020.

Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic have made it even harder for women and girls to gain equal access to WASH, reinforcing how essential these services are in households and public spaces. To formulate collective responses to these challenges, ActionAid and WaterAid brought together almost 70 participants from around the world, from international and local organisations, academia, service providers, unions, and the WASH sector itself.

Ahead of the Generation Equality Forum, we hope that this policy brief can help identify concrete steps policy makers can take to advance gender equality and the rights of women, girls, and trans and non-binary people through expanding access to sustainable WASH services.

Read the outcomes brief (PDF) here.

See the original e-consultation blog and web page in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Watch the webinar exploring the recommendations to advance a joint action agenda on gender equality and water, sanitation and hygiene.

This virtual roundtable featured representatives from FEMNET, Myanmar’s Gender Equality Network, and PSI’s World Women’s Committee, as well as the (then) UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation Léo Heller, academic Pedi Obani, and activist Mithu Garai Mallik.

Top image: Maria Angelina Deme, 37, chief of the water committee fixes a water tap. Timor-Leste, 2017.