The article "Water" from WW has left me speachless. I had no idea that countries and villages around the world are not as fortunate as the Unites States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Austrailia and Russia.
The facts brought to my attention of how water can affect peoples lives all aroud the world, especcially women and girls, being the main targets of lnadequete water. After girls go trough puberty they a less likely to attend school or recieve an education. Concerning they are considered the "water haulers" of the world meaning on average women and girls in developing countries will walk six kilometers a day, carrying 20 liters of water, reducing the time they have to do other activites. Since most girls are the major factor of recieving the water, they of course have lower rates of participation in education, since they have to get the water for their family and themselves.
I have a bittersweet feeling from this article, being happy that i am further educated on the issue around the world and sad for the facts themselves.
This tragic water issue around the world reminds me of when i took a day trip to Mexico by the border of San Deigo, where their was extream poverty. The water they drank was polluted, it looked like a dirty swamp.
This article and that day trip made me realize how fortunate i am, and that i should not take the "simple" things in life for granted, when they could mean life or death for others, all around the world.
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As a biology major, I am constantly learning how polluted our water is. It is filled with microbes, bacteria, and other life forms that could pose a threat to our health. However, I do realize that other countries are not as fortunate as us to have at least some form of water purification.
ReplyDeleteI remember a story in one of my GenEd courses where they talk about how when a person dies, their body is tied down to heavy objects and put into a spiritual river. That, or the person's body is cremated, and their ashes are let into the river. Then, further downstream, people would bathe in the river, or gather water for drinking purposes. Just the thought of drinking the contaminated water made me gag, however, I realized that these people did not have an option.
In response to the article, I think the fact that women are forced to be water gatherers is another example of how males use their power to refuse higher education to women, and lessen their worth as people. By making them gather the water, they are unable to go to school and better themselves. Plus, I'm sure that women are deprived of the water that they gather as well, and only receive what is left after the males take what they want. This, I believe, is a form of abuse becaue it is depriving women of their needs to stay alive. It could also be seen as a form of torture since their bodies cannot sustain if not given the proper fluids.
This is obviously a huge problem in many developing countries. And part of a country's infrastructure is the creation of water ways and systems to provide the community members with a water source. These infrastructures need to be developed so that women do not spend their entire day going and gathering water. Women need to regain some power, and in order to do this they need a more reliable and sensible source of water.