To advance gender equity, we most prioritize the most basic rights that are still denied to women and children. Let's start with the most fundamental of human needs -- access to clean water and safe sanitation, including soap for handwashing. Too many of us take these for granted, and yet, according to the WHO, 2.2 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water and, according to UN Water, 4.2 billion don't have a safe place to use the toilet. Water and sanitation are critical pathways to transforming gender relations and can dramatically improve reproductive, maternal, adolescent and child health. Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is not only the right thing to do -- it's what women want.

Source: The Nation March 07, 2021 02:03 UTC