Kashmir water study: women fetch water in 9 of 10 rural homes

Fetching water is costing rural women in Kashmir their working hours, their energy and, in many cases, their menstrual hygiene, according to a University of Kashmir study whose findings were reported on 20 and 21 October 2026. The survey of 600 respondents across more than 70 villages in Budgam, Pulwama and Kupwara districts found that women fetched water in 550 households, and 95 per cent of respondents reported physical and mental exhaustion linked to water-related work. The study was led by Dr Shazia Malik, senior assistant professor at the university's Centre for Women Studies and Research, under a project funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

Conversations about work-life balance usually focus on offices, commutes and screen time. This study is a reminder that for millions of rural women, the first "shift" of the day is often unpaid and physical: walking to a spring, tap or tank, waiting, and carrying heavy containers home. When that work takes hours, it competes directly with paid work, farm work, rest, childcare and the woman's own health. Nearly every respondent in the survey said water duties cut into their working hours, which means the burden is not only tiring but also limits what women can earn.

The finding that 95 per cent of respondents reported physical and mental exhaustion matters for wellbeing. Repeated lifting and long walks strain the body. The researchers' figures do not measure clinical conditions such as depression or injury, and the survey covers only three districts, so the results should not be read as a picture of rural India as a whole.

The link to menstrual hygiene is one that often goes unspoken. Managing periods safely needs enough clean water for washing, bathing and cleaning reusable cloth or products. When water is scarce or must be carried from far away, women and girls may cut back on what they use for themselves. About nine in ten respondents said scarcity affected their menstrual hygiene, which ties the water question to women's health and dignity, not just to household chores.

The study also points to a gap between building infrastructure and easing daily life. The Jal Jeevan Mission is the Union government's programme to bring tap connections to rural homes. The survey found that only about one in five respondents knew about government water schemes, and nearly all judged local water infrastructure inadequate. According to the findings as reported, a connection on paper does not always mean a reliable flow, and where supply is irregular, the work of collecting water still falls on women.

Short-term: The findings give local administrations and water departments in the three districts specific numbers to act on, such as households whose nearest source is more than 500 metres away, and they highlight low awareness of schemes that women could use or hold officials accountable to.

Long-term: If supply becomes reliable at the household level, women could regain time for paid work, rest and family, and girls could lose fewer school hours. The study also supports the case for including women in local water committees and planning, since they are the ones who carry the load and know where the system fails.

Who is affected: Rural women and girls in Budgam, Pulwama and Kupwara, and more broadly women in hilly and rural areas where water must be collected by hand; panchayats, water departments and planners working on rural supply.

Questions and Answers