Women did not feature in water policy until the 1980s when
the United Nations announced the International Drinking
Water Supply and Sanitation Decade and emphasis shifted
from large-scale technocratic fixes to local approaches that
called for people’s participation in the planning and management
of water infrastructure (Zwarteveen & Ahmed, 2012).
Women’s role as drawers of water and advocates of household
hygiene meant that improvements in water and sanitation
facilities could relieve their domestic burden (WASH, 1981;
White, Bradley, & White, 1972) and provide a rationale for
their involvement in drinking water supply projects (van
Wijk, 2001).