Women, water and access: inscribing gender power in and through a place

Abstract

This paper explores the socio-cultural and gender-based dynamics associated with place values, and their implication on women's access to water through case studies of upland and riverine communities in southern Nigeria. We used a range of fieldwork methods including public meetings, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, keen observations, key informants and other secondary sources. Our findings show that drinking water sources are a part of the many forms of visible material structures that embody and generate automatic reproduction of gender-based beliefs, attitudes, feelings and practices. The outcome of such practices affects men and women differently in relation to access, workload and capacity for hygiene and other socio-economic practices. In discussing access to essential public goods, social and economic capacities take priority focus over the impact of ‘place values’ either as standalone or intersectional elements. Research should be expanded to incorporate these elements and their intersectional perspectives in shaping access to water.