Hala Al-Hashidi

Taiz– People of Taiz, a city in southwestern Yemen, have been suffering from a water crisis since the 1990s. The war between the internationally recognized Yemeni government forces and the Ansar Allah Houthi group has exacerbated their suffering since the governmental water corporation stopped pumping water into homes. In the rural areas of Taiz, women and girls have to walk for kilometers to fetch drinking water.

Nour Ali is one of the rural women negatively affected by the water crisis. “We face many difficulties in getting safe drinking water. I take care of my children, do the housework such as laundry, cooking, and washing the dishes. In the mornings, I have to take care of my children so I have to leave the house late to fetch water from the mountainous regions. As women living in rural areas, we suffer from the water crisis more. We spend every day fetching drinking water.”

Women spend their time searching for drinking water

The biggest challenge faced by women in rural areas is the water crisis, Marjana Saleh told NuJINHA. “As rural women, we have to walk for kilometers to fetch drinking water. Rural women and girls spend their time searching for drinking water,” she said. “Therefore, girls cannot find enough time to study and this affects their educational life. Since it has not rained for five months, water levels in wells have decreased. We have to walk five kilometers every day to fetch water.”