Across the nation, especially while travelling along countryside, one picture that’s hard to miss is women carrying cauldrons over their head and going on long (compulsive) morning/evening walks to fetch water.
This image depicts India’s two major issues – one, India’s decade-long struggle for water, and two, women putting in tremendous efforts for themselves and their families – something not always highlighted. Due to this, they do not get enough time to perform more productive tasks, which thus hinders women’s empowerment.
Today, the water crisis is just as important as the women’s issue. As per data revealed by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), a wing of the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, in 2012, about 54% of rural women had to travel between 200 m to five km each day to get drinking water.
