“Water and Gender — Where Water Flows, Equality Grows” was the theme of this year’s World Water Day, celebrated by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI) last month in partnership with the European Union Delegation to Egypt by launching the Water Hyacinth Initiative for Women’s Empowerment in the Water Sector and Water Hyacinth Recycling.
This is a programme that empowers women beneficiaries to receive specialised training in transforming water hyacinths into handmade, eco-friendly products and sustainable corporate packaging.
Angelina Eichhorst, ambassador of the European Union in Egypt, said that the programme showcases how sustainable water management and circular economy approaches can directly advance gender equality and green livelihoods.
She said that Egypt is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, which makes every decision about water today carry consequences well beyond the sector itself. “It affects agriculture, jobs, health, local development, and the resilience of communities to climate shocks,” she commented.
Gender equality is important in the water sector, according to Angy Elyamany, executive director of the Rural and Environmental Industries Support Fund (REIS) at the Ministry of Social Solidarity, as in many communities around the world women and girls carry the primary responsibility for collecting water for their families.
This daily burden can limit educational and economic opportunities, she said, adding that as a result “ensuring sustainable and equitable water management is not only an environmental priority, but also a matter of social justice and human empowerment.”
She said that the Water Hyacinth Initiative links the sustainable management of natural resources with women’s economic empowerment by transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for local development.
Ayman Ayad, water and social infrastructure sector manager in the EU Delegation to Egypt, said that “the EU stands with Egypt on World Water Day 2026 to reaffirm that water security is a shared strategic priority.” He noted that this year’s focus on water and gender reflects the fact that inclusive water governance leads to stronger communities, better services, and greater resilience.
Women are not only among those most affected by water stress, he said, but they are also central to its solutions as leaders, experts, entrepreneurs, and community actors. “There are several key messages regarding the EU’s support for Egypt in this area,” he added. “First, water security is a strategic EU-Egypt priority, not only a technical sector issue. Second, gender-responsive water governance and investment produce better outcomes for communities and services.”
Ayad said that the EU partnership with Egypt combines infrastructure with reform, resilience, and support for practical local initiatives.
Since 2007, he said, the EU has contributed around 600 million euros in grants to Egypt’s water sector, leveraging nearly 3.5 billion euros in investment. “These efforts have benefited around 25 million people, expanded nearly 11,000 km of water networks, and supported around 200 water and wastewater treatment plants,” Ayad said.
Overall, the issue of water is no longer just an environmental or service issue, but has become a developmental, economic, and social issue that is directly linked to achieving sustainability and improving the quality of life, especially for the neediest groups, Alyamany concluded.
According to a 2021 UN children’s agency (UNICEF) report, climate and environmental hazards have devastating impacts on the well-being of children globally, with 920 million children — over one-third globally — currently highly exposed to water scarcity.
In Egypt, the issue is taken very seriously as a major challenge now and in the years to come. According to the Inter Press Service news agency, the country is facing an annual water deficit of around seven billion cubic metres, and it could eventually run out of water altogether.
WATER HYANCINTHS: A video was shown during the celebration of World Water Day this year highlighting the cooperation between the MWRI and the EU in training rural women on recycling water hyacinths and turning them into distinctive handmade products at the Regional Training Centre for Water Resources and Irrigation.
The water hyacinth is considered to be a dangerous invasive plants threatening water security and the environment. It spreads at an alarming rate, consumes billions of cubic metres of water worldwide through transpiration and blocking sunlight and oxygen from marine life, and it causes the death of marine organisms and the degradation of the ecosystem.
It also obstructs river navigation, clogs irrigation and drinking water stations, and provides a breeding ground for snails and disease-carrying mosquitoes, according to the Egyptian Agricultural Platform.
Hani Sweilem, minister of water resources and irrigation, emphasised the ministry’s commitment to addressing the challenge of water hyacinth and transforming it from a problem into an economic asset that benefits the most vulnerable families and contributes to environmental preservation by converting it into handcrafted products.
This is evidenced by the ministry’s Regional Training Centre conducting training programmes on water-hyacinth recycling at its headquarters and branches in the governorates of Kafr Al-Sheikh, Damietta, and Damanhour, and Esna city. These programmes involve women from civil society and different associations. Sweilem also noted the ministry’s plan to continue offering similar training programmes to reach even more women.
Sahar Al-Sonbaty, president of the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood, said that equitable and safe access to water directly impacts the lives of women and girls, affecting their opportunities in education, health, employment, and participation in development.
She pointed out that in many societies, women and girls bear the responsibility of providing water for their families. “This can constitute a daily burden that affects their access to education and employment, making the sustainable and equitable management of water resources a crucial step towards achieving social justice,” Al-Sonbaty said.
In Egypt, Eichhorst said the theme for this year carries special meaning as water is not only a resource, but is also dignity, continuity, and shared destiny.
“The theme matters because when water is unsafe, unreliable, distant, or unaffordable, women and girls often carry the heaviest burden. They lose time, they lose opportunities, they lose safety, health, and income. They absorb the hidden costs of water stress in households, in farms, in communities, and in daily life. But the reverse is equally true,” Eichhorst said.
When water services improve, institutions become more inclusive, and when women participate more fully in decision-making, communities become healthier, more resilient, and more prosperous. “So, the day is not only about recognising inequality. It is about recognising a solution. Women are not only affected by water insecurity. Women are part of the answer, as engineers, farmers, entrepreneurs, researchers, public officials, and community leaders,” she noted.
Gender equality in water is not only a social issue, Eichhorst said, it is also a governance issue, an investment issue and an implementation issue. “If women are missing where decisions are made, then priorities risk being incomplete. If women’s needs, time burdens, safety concerns, and care responsibilities are not reflected in project design, then investments will be less effective,”.
She added that “If we want systems that are more trusted by the communities they serve, then women must have a stronger voice in how those systems are planned, financed, governed, and monitored.”
The initiative reflects exactly the kind of practical approach needed, she said, turning an environmental challenge into an economic opportunity and connecting women’s empowerment with water stewardship. It also shows how the green transition, social inclusion, and local livelihoods can reinforce one another rather than compete with one another.
According to UNICEF sources, the initiative has given many women the opportunity to learn about water hyacinth for the first time and discover how an environmental challenge can be turned into an opportunity for awareness raising and actively contribute to positive solutions that support and benefit communities.
Sweilem said the ministry is also working on other initiatives that will represent an important step in developing the management of water resources, making use of challenges and transferring them into real opportunities for development. He also said the ministry was linking these efforts with national initiatives such as the Takaful and Karama, [Solidarity and Dignity] campaign, to ensure that support reaches the most needy groups, especially women in rural areas.
At the same time, he said, the ministry placed great importance on human-resource development and training, along with raising awareness. On the international level, he said Egypt’s role has also been clear and effective.
“We chaired the African Ministerial Council on Water for two years, the Executive Bureau of the Arab Ministerial Council on Water, and the African Water Facility,” Sweilam said. “In addition, we also co-chair the Global Water Dialogue (ID3) with Japan.”
But what was even more important, he added, was translating this strategic discourse into practical reality. “Therefore, it has been essential to define clear priorities for the ministry and transform these priorities into actionable projects. In the area of governance, we have identified 48 projects alone,” he concluded.
In addition to families, local communities and farmers have also been involved in the decision-making process within the MWRI, not only in the field or at the individual usage level, but also at the national decision-making level.
“One of the most important achievements that confirms the protection of Egypt’s water was the issuance of the prime minister’s decision more than a month ago to form the National Water Council in Egypt, which is headed by the prime minister and includes the head of the Water Users Association,” Sweilam concluded.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 2 April, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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