One out of every two people in Pakistan does not have access to safe drinking water, according to the World Bank. Unicef numbers are even more stark: 70pc of households drink bacterially contaminated water.

“The most surprising thing I find about Pakistan is the lack of drinking water,” said a bemused Canadian citizen visiting Pakistan on a work trip. “If we do not have safe drinking water coming out of our taps, the government would have a huge problem.” But a right for the privileged is a luxury for the impoverished.

The burden of finding a safe water supply falls on women. World Bank reports that in places like Rehmatabad in Punjab, women walk up to 4km daily and wait in line for four hours to collect water. Every day is spent just collecting water rather than employment.

When water is a precious resource, its use to keep things clean is limited, leading to a host of diseases that prevent children from going to school. Women cannot work, and children cannot learn, contributing towards the spiral of poverty-related vulnerabilities.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 23th, 2023