An Analysis of Women’s Right of Access to water and Sanitation

UN CESCR General Comment no.15 in 2002 asserted that states should go towards realising the human right to water and sanitation for basic needs. The limited access to water and sanitation has greatly affected women because of their gendered responsibilities. The question is whether this right is broader enough to accommodate its realisation for women’s work outside the household. The theoretical framework of this research focus on how society has generally undervalued women’s work outside the household, a situation which is further compounded by the fact that work in urban Zimbabwe is now dominated by the informal sector which is not protected and secured against several aspects which include inadequate water and sanitation at the work places. This has gendered consequences in view of women’s special needs which further marginalise them by forcing them to non- productive sectors. This situation makes the women at the markets scapegoats for the recent cholera and typhoid outbreak. There is no longer denying the interrelatedness of human rights standards so there is need to protect women in their work found in the informal sector.