By Fahreen Hossain, Former Senior Research Associate, REACH Project, Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), Bangladesh

On May 1, 2024, a temperature of 42 degrees Celsius was observed in Khulna, a district on the coastal belt of Bangladesh, a record high in 23 years, as reported by the Khulna Meteorological Department. The coastal belt of Bangladesh is often subjected to climate hazard risks such as heat waves, cyclones, river erosion, and high salinity, among others. Often, more frequently than otherwise preferred, these factors affect the water consumption in the area, with water shortages seen during the dry seasons. Despite Bangladesh being a riverine country, the water in the rivers in the southern part of the country is salty due to the close proximity to the Bay of Bengal.

In Khulna, some of the common domestic water sources are deep water tube wells, protected ponds, pond sand filters, Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants, and rainwater harvesting, given they have storage containers. However, with a strong presence of financial crises in the areas, the residents are unable to afford expenditure for water from their daily income, such as purchasing water from RO plants (which in some parts of rural Khulna costs BDT8- 10 per pitcher) or 500L/1000L tanks to store rainwater (price ranges from BDT 4000/9000 approximately). Hence, they prefer to collect water from protected ponds and tube wells. Over the last several years, during summer, locals faced an extreme crisis of water as the ground-level water fell and their usual water sources no longer had a supply.

Water collection for domestic usage of the household is still a gendered role in South Asia (Sabrina Zaman, 2023), where females bear the brunt of the responsibility of water collection, assigning usage and storage. The months of summer, especially during April-May (Md. Rejaur Rahman, 2016), the usual sources of water run dry, and the water stress becomes high. Water consumption during this time also increases measurably due to the unbearable heat and is a cause of great distress among females of a household. They have to collect water from far-away locations, or purchase water with money; neither situation is convenient. Multiple cases of gender-based violence have been reported where partners have been abusive due to their wives’ inability to meet the obligatory household responsibilities, either due to insufficiency of water or inability to complete other household chores, such as cooking and cleaning, resulting from the longer time consumed to collect water (Paula S. Tallman, 2022).

While the government of Bangladesh has always put strong emphasis on risk management and mitigation, the locals focus on adaptation to their reality. Women often use alum to clean the murky water found in the ponds. They try to collect water early in the morning when the queues are shorter, or try to save money to be able to afford clean water only for drinking purposes. It has been observed that women often save good quality water for their children, who otherwise fall sick, and also their husbands or the elderly. Their bodies have acclimatised to the poor water quality, even though on several occasions they complain of rashes and skin disease from bathing in dirty water, or dysentery from polluted water. Water stress as a result of extreme heat on women at the household level is often overlooked as it does not affect the economy or society at a macro scale, unlike agricultural repercussions, as there is no monetary valuation of the suffering. It is high time for a focus on this regard!

References:

1. Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. (2020). National Plan for Disaster Management (2021- 2025). Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
2. Rejaur Rahman, H. L. (2016). Meteorological drought in Bangladesh: assessing, analysing and hazard mapping using SPI, GIS and monthly rainfall data. Environmental Earth Sciences, Springer Nature.
3. Paula S. Tallman, S. C.-M. (2022). Water insecurity and gender-based violence: A global review of evidence. WIREs WATER.
4. Sabrina Zaman, M. N. (2023). Gender Culture in Water Security of Coastal Bangladesh- A Maxim or Redress? In M. M. Mahbuba Nasreen. Khondokar Mokaddem Hossain, Coastal Disaster Risk Management in Bangladesh: Vulnerability and Resilience (p. 22). Routledge.
5. A woman from Sachibunia, Khulna, is carrying two pitchers to collect water in the evening. She is pointing out how far she has to walk to the only water source available during peak summer, which takes her almost 20 minutes. The smaller pitcher is to hold drinking water for her toddler.
6. A pond used by the locals for drinking water has dried up and turned dark green. The water is not potable during summer, and the residents have to seek water from different neighbourhoods

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of AIDMI.