Access to clean water in the southern region of Mozambique and its implications for girls’ right to education Irene Oração Afonso Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Master in Women’s Law Southern and Eastern African Regional Centre for Women’s Law, University of Zimbabwe March 2004 1 The author (sitting in the centre) interviewing women from a rural community in Pessene, Boane district, southern Mozambique. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to: Paulo Comoane and Bitone Nahe from the Faculty of Law of Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique, for exposing me to the Women’s Law course; Professor Julie Stewart, my supervisor, for encouraging me during the field research, providing academic guid- ance on my dissertation and for supporting me during the most difficult moments of my stay in Zimbabwe with my baby daughter. On behalf of Wendy, thanks for everything; Professor Amy Tsanga, for her critical appreciation during my presentation session and for awarding my baby daughter Wendy with a Master’s certificate. Thank you very much; Professor Anne Hellum for her critical and useful input on the research proposal and research findings; Dr L. Chipunze for her prompt assistance in improving my skills on my second language, upgrading it to a workable ‘Portuenglish’; Special thanks to Cecilia Mariri for her well-organized library and her prompt assistance in accessing bibliog- raphy related to this dissertation; Blessing Tsomondo and Rudo Maconi, for mothering me and my baby Wendy; I would like to extend my deep and sincere gratitude to Joao Manja my fellow Mozambican from the local FAO office in Harare for his assistance and support up to the last moments of my course; Last but not the least I thank my husband for his constant emotional and academic support and love. 3 Dedication I dedicate my dissertation to: My little Wendy, my loyal companion during the eighteen months of my studies from when she was only two months old, Her siblings, my daughters, Nadia, Yara, Erika and Britt, My husband Rogério, My mother Joana, who fought for my education and my late father Afonso, who passed away whilst I was doing my final research for this dissertation. 4 Contents List of international instruments and national laws cited ............................................................................ 6 International instruments ............................................................................................................................. 6 National laws ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Abbreviations and acronyms ....................................................................................................................... 6 List of tables ................................................................................................................................................ 6 List of figures .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Map of the republic of Mozambique ........................................................................................................... 7 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Subject matter and problem area ....................................................................................................... 9 Background to the research ............................................................................................................... 9 Demarcation of the study ................................................................................................................ 12 Objectives ........................................................................................................................................ 12 Assumptions .................................................................................................................................... 13 Research questions .......................................................................................................................... 14 2 Legal framework ........................................................................................................................... 14 International instruments ................................................................................................................. 14 National law and policy .................................................................................................................. 15 3 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 15 Grounded theory.............................................................................................................................. 15 The women’s law approach ............................................................................................................. 16 Gender perspective .......................................................................................................................... 17 Methods of data collection .............................................................................................................. 17 Limitations of the study .................................................................................................................. 20 4 Presentation of data and discussion ............................................................................................. 21 Scarcity of water and access to water in the rural areas .................................................................. 21 Who collects water? ........................................................................................................................ 23 5 Significance of the findings ........................................................................................................... 31 People in the southern region of Mozambique still face scarcity of clean water resources ............ 31 Safety of water in the areas visited.................................................................................................. 32 Accessibility of water for the families in the areas visited ............................................................. 33 Gender stereotyped roles in collection of water .............................................................................. 33 The scarcity of water and its implications for girls ......................................................................... 35 The role of the government in water supply ................................................................................... 36 Government policy on water supply ...............................................................................................38 Impact of technology and other interventions on easing girls’ access to water .............................. 39 Impact of privatization of water ...................................................................................................... 39 6 Emerging themes ........................................................................................................................... 39 The vision of the community without water ................................................................................... 39 The perception of water as a marketable item................................................................................. 40 7 Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................................. 40 The state obligation ......................................................................................................................... 42 Plan of action and the way forward................................................................................................. 43 5 List of international instruments and national laws cited International instruments 1. International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1. International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 2. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 3. Convention on The Right of Child 4. Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 5. Universal Declaration on Human Rights National laws 1. The Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique (1990) 2. The Water Law No 16/91 of 3rd August 3. The National Water Policy (1996) Abbreviations and acronyms WHO World Health Organization WFP World Food Programme FAO Food and Agriculture Organization ICESCR International Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights CEDAW Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women CRC Convention on the Rights of Child NGO non-governmental organization UN United Nations List of tables Table 1 Population Category and Sampling Procedure 20 Table 2 Access to Clean Water in Maputo 26 Table 3 Who Collects Water 36 Table 4 Daily distribution of girls and boys 43 Diagram 1 Systematic representation of impact of access to water on girls 55 List of figures Figure 1 Girls fetching water in Tenga, 26 Figure 2 Group discussion with the community in Pessene 30 Figure 3 Group discussion with the community in Kassimate 36 6 MAP OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE 7 8 1 Introduction Subject matter and problem area The subject matter