By Constance Zuni
Mazowe- The river separating a local compound from Mazowe Flowers is only a short walk away, but crossing it marks the start of a gruelling journey for something as basic as a clean glass of water.
With nearby mining activities leaving local streams visibly polluted and unfit for domestic use, young women in Mashonaland Central are being forced to wade through murky currents just to keep their families hydrated.
For students like Anesu Mundoza and Prudence Phiri, the absence of safe tap water has turned a basic human necessity into a physical ordeal.
Two to three times a week, they must balance empty containers on their heads, brave the muddy river crossing, and hike an additional kilometre just to reach the nearest clean water source.
The exhausting routine exacts a heavy toll on their education. Mundoza noted that the hours she spends hauling heavy buckets and managing the home directly rob her of crucial study time.
“Fetching water affects my schoolwork because the time I want to use to read is the same time I have to fetch water and do other household chores,” she said.
The burden is even heavier for those managing households on their own. As the sole caregiver for her ageing grandmother, Phiri has to rush from the classroom straight to the water queues every afternoon to secure enough water to cook and clean before nightfall.
“I am the only person who can help her with chores. After school, I make sure there is clean water at home and make sure she is well fed. I wish we could have a clean water source nearby so the burdens could loosen up on me,” she added.
Their daily struggle exposes a stark reality in Mazowe: when communities lack safe water infrastructure, the heaviest physical toll inevitably falls on women and girls.
Standing waist-deep in a muddy river with containers balanced above their heads, what should be a basic public service has devolved into a dangerous physical task. Schoolwork is forced to wait, while household responsibilities can not.
For Mundoza, Phiri, and countless others, this water crisis is not an abstract policy issue. It is a daily reality measured in kilometres walked, textbooks left unopened, and rivers crossed, raising the uncomfortable question of how much more young women must sacrifice simply to fetch a clean bucket of water.
