Abstract

Water is very important to the body, as it is used in every cell of the human body. Apart from the critical role played
by water in the human body, water is also a major aspect of human growth and development. This is seen in the fact
that, water has always being a key driver of sustainable growth and poverty alleviation, being an input to almost all
production, in agriculture, industry, energy, transport. Access to safe water increases economic returns.
Accordingly, improving household water access impacts household finances and ultimately, the economy at a macro
level. More so, access to safe water and a toilet at home can reduce a family’s health care expenses. Nevertheless,
even though there are several studies and forums on women’s involvement in water and sanitation for over decades
now, in reality women have not been as active in the sector as one would have expected. This paper examined some
factors responsible for the low level of involvement and makes suggestions on how this can be improved. It concluded
that although women need to work alongside men in rural water and sanitation projects, men should first of all be
made to appreciate the crucial role of women in order for them to fashion out appropriate strategies to involve their
women counterparts effectively. The involvement of the women should be facilitated by social workers who have to
ensure that outside workers do not disturb the socio-cultural milieu where the women live and operate. Lastly, the
women should not be addressed in isolation but as part of the complete network of relations of rural societies