Journal article
Centring girls in water justice research and social movements
Environmental development, Vol.59, 101471
2026
Abstract
Scholars and activists focused on water justice in the Global South are increasingly embracing collaborative methods. These methods include community-centred research, public engagement in water management, and participatory interventions aimed at addressing the crisis of fresh and clean water access in both urban and rural localities. This represents a shift from state-led water management that is top-down, technocentric, and privatised, towards just and equitable water solutions which are informed by the needs of community members. In patriarchal societies of the Global South, girls are disproportionately affected by the water crisis, as they are tasked with water searching and fetching responsibilities and household chores. However, they are often left out of water justice initiatives by paternalistic adults who claim to act and speak for them. Girls lived experiences, needs and contributions amidst perpetual water injustices are explained, theorised and misrepresented through adult worldviews. This article argues for girls’ urgent inclusion in water justice research and social movements in ways that are agentic, collaborative and community centred, towards ameliorating the adverse effects of the water crisis on girls. This article proposes that water justice researchers and movements turn to local girl-centred Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodologies to address existing knowledge, participatory and action gaps.
Details
- Title
- Centring girls in water justice research and social movements
- Authors/Creators
- Cecilia Chitukula - Edith Cowan UniversityKylie Wrigley - Edith Cowan University (Australia, Bunbury) - ECUJulie Nyanjom - Edith Cowan UniversityNaomi Joy Godden - Edith Cowan University
- Publication Details
- Environmental development, Vol.59, 101471
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V
- Number of pages
- 8
- Identifiers
- 991005877682407891
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Authors.
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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