Effects of Water Scarcity on Women in Pastoral Areas: A Case Study of Melela Ward in Mvomero District – Morogoro, Tanzania

Abstract

Rural areas in most developing countries are subjected to low water coverage, which is also contaminated with chemicals and bacteria.  Such a situation is the consequence of lack of proper water management which creates insufficient and poor water quality in the community.  The sustainability of community water for good health is based on available and within-reach safe water sources, free from contamination.  Melela Ward is a pastoral area, with an estimated population of 292,505 people and has only one water source serving the whole population. The water source is contaminated with human beings bathing and washing in it, and there are faecal contaminants from animals and chemical (mercury) contaminants from mines operating around the area.  Such hazards endanger people’s lives, who are subjected to frequent outbreaks of diarrhoea and cholera.  Findings revealed that water scarcity forces women and children to walk long distances in search for this scarce facility.  This has resulted to conflicts and violence in their households when these women come back after dark with insufficient water for the house and unable to do productive work.  Sometimes, they risk being raped by men who would like to take advantage of the circumstances; they risk being attacked by wild animals; and they even become psychologically effected due to unnecessary harassment from their spouses.  Again, these women are constantly in fear of the security of their children, when the latter have to be left back to fend for themselves when their mothers are out in search of water.  It is being recommended that there has to be awareness creation regarding the hazards that might be the result of using contaminated water.  Responsible authorities should ensure proper management of available water and water sources, ensure that the whole community is aware of ways to make water availability sustainable, and the government and organisations concerned with environmental protection should seek to design programmes that will address and improve the lives of women in pastoralist areas.