| In the midst of the water crisis, more international attention is being paid to the intimate relationship of women in the developing world to water. The international community is recognizing women's role as water collectors. However, while there has been much talk of the importance of including women in the decision making process of water management policy, in reality women's roles are still restricted by gender norms. The purpose of the project is to look closely at the theoretical, material, and religious ties between women and water to establish what the relationship between women and water is, and how that relationship is used to dictate water policy. My analysis concludes that women are tied to water by a logic of domination, that the imagery created by that logic restricts women's role in water management, and that world religions help to justify that domination and exclusion. This system of domination and exploitation in the relationship of women to water leads me to conclude that a conceptual framework of water justice would be more considerate of that relationship. |
