Gendered waters: the effect of marginalizing women in the Taliban-Iran water dispute
By Rustam Seerat
The water dispute between the Taliban and Iran over the Helmand River has recently escalated into a display of machismo and military posturing. While both sides flex their strength, the real victims of this dispute are the women who bear the brunt of water scarcity and its consequences. This article examines the gender dynamics involved in the conflict and highlights the marginalization of women in decision-making processes related to transboundary water governance.
There is no universal formula for solving water disputes between upstream countries and downstream countries. Often, nations share precious water resources through bilateral or multilateral treaties. Although those agreements can often prevent many disagreements, the precious nature of water means that there is always the threat of conflict, especially as rainfall and water levels rise and fall. The Indus River Water Treaty signed in September 1960 between India and Pakistan is an example of how such an agreement can survive, even through two wars between the neighbouring countries.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Sometimes, India, which occupies the valuable upstream position, threatens Pakistan that it will redirect waters of the Indus River towards its Punjab and Rajasthan states if Pakistan doesn’t stop allowing terrorists to operate from its lands. In 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quoted as saying, “Blood and water can’t flow together at the same time,” a warning that if Pakistan does not prevent bloodshed on Indian soil then his government would divert the Indus River that flows from Indian-controlled Kashmir. Still, for all the posturing and warnings, India has remained committed to the Indus Water Treaty.
The situation is less settled for Afghanistan, from which many rivers originate and then flow into neighboring countries. It has signed only one bilateral treaty, the Helmand River Water Treaty of 1973, with Iran on the sharing of water from that river. The Helmand River Water Treaty stipulates that roughly one-third of the river’s water belongs to Iran, while two-thirds belong to Afghanistan. However, both sides accuse each other of violating the treaty and failing to uphold their legal commitments. Late in May, both sides exchanged heavy gunfire across the border.
If that weren’t enough, the fact that there are no treaties regarding water between Afghanistan and Pakistan or its other Central Asian neighbours means that more disputes are all but inevitable as climate change intensifies.
Lost in the current dispute are that the main victims are women on both sides of the Afghanistan-Iranian border yet it is they who are deprived of any decision-making power regarding the precious commodity. As the region is increasingly grappling with long droughts, which exacerbate its water scarcity problem, the burden of collecting and transporting water falls disproportionately on the women of the household. They are forced to travel long distances to return with heavy amounts of water. Those treks can significantly impact their livelihoods and health, in particular young girls whose access to education is hindered by such time-consuming work. In Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province, girls regularly walk two kilometres a day to bring water back to their homes, a phenomenon called water fetching (Kolbari-e Ab).
In Pakistan, 72 percent of the water needed by families is procured by women, often from distant water supplies. The water carriers will eventually suffer from joint pains in their legs, back, and neck due to carrying heavy containers of water in their youth. Although the impacts of such water scarcity on women in Afghanistan are largely unreported, women are primarily responsible for fetching family water supplies like in Iran and Pakistan. And dry summers in the northwestern provinces of Badghis are already forcing many families to internally migrate from their homes and villages every year.
Women’s participation in water governance
Amid the dispute over the Helmand River’s water between the Taliban and the Iranian government, the impact on women is overlooked by both the Taliban and the Iranian theocracy. In these patriarchal societies, women have been completely marginalized when it comes to decision-making over such an important transboundary river. Neither the Taliban regime nor the Iranian government include women in significant positions of power or engage them in meaningful discussions on water management and conflict resolution.
Instead, the regional water management is dominated by men. Yet examples from nearby countries suggest that ignoring women could be to the detriment of both the Taliban and Iran. A recent study showed that women’s participation in transboundary water governance in north-eastern India proved crucial for effective decision-making and sustainable solutions (see Varsha Khandker, Vasant P. Gandhi, & Nicky Johnson, 2020, p. 1). The perspectives and experiences of women brought valuable insights to water institutions and enhanced the overall effectiveness of water policies. Additionally, the study pointed out that women respondents saw “a generally positive development impact of WUAs on the village, including a positive impact on lower castes, small and marginal farmers, lower-income groups, and wage earners, but little positive impact on women” (Ibid, 15).
If we don’t put women at the heart of the response in the most water-scarce region in the world, then those programs will fail, says Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. When it comes to deciding how the water is shared, men are likely to pay more attention to agriculture and allocate less water for household use and cleaning, which are seen as women’s concerns. Instead, including women in water management decision-making helps create a balance between what water is allocated to agriculture and what is given for drinking and hygiene.
The conflict over water and its use are likely to continue in the region, given the changing climate and increasing frequency of droughts. Therefore, it makes sense to include women in such decision-making processes as their involvement has been shown to lead to more inclusive and effective solutions that address the needs and challenges faced by communities in the water-scarce region.
The ongoing water dispute between the Taliban and Iran over the Helmand River highlights the urgent need to prioritize gender-inclusive approaches to water management. Women, who bear the heaviest burden in times of water scarcity, must be empowered and included in decision-making processes. By recognizing and addressing the gender dynamics in water disputes, countries can work towards sustainable solutions that benefit all members of society.
