International Development (Gender Equality) Bill

Lord McColl of Dulwich Excerpts

Friday 7th February 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

That the Bill be read a second time.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con)]

My Lords, Mr William Cash MP deserves great credit for steering this Private Member’s Bill through another place, from its introduction on 19 June 2013 to its Third Reading on 17 January 2014. It is a modest Bill, intended to ensure that when the Government provide development or humanitarian assistance to countries outside the UK, they do so—wherever possible—in a way that promotes gender equality.

Water, sanitation and hygiene poverty disproportionately blights the lives of women and girls. Lack of water, sanitation and hygiene—WASH—can, first, prevent girls from attending primary school because they are too busy collecting water or caring for sick family members, and, secondly, expose them to sexual and physical violence while walking in isolated areas or seeking private places in which to urinate. Secondary education depends on water, sanitation and hygiene access because girls cannot attend school when they are sick with diarrhoea or when they have to collect water for the family. Those who are menstruating may choose to skip a week of school or drop out altogether if there are no private latrines or hygiene supplies at school.

Lack of education has an impact on the rest of girls’ lives, including their health, their freedom to plan their families and, ultimately, the cycle of poverty. Gender equality is not possible until everyone everywhere has access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. The International Development (Gender Equality) Bill is essential if we are to stop discriminatory legal frameworks, policies, practices and beliefs that prevent some people accessing water, sanitation and hygiene services.

In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls spend 40 billion working hours every year collecting water. With a safe supply of water and toilets, women are able to spend time engaging in income-generating activities or agriculture. Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene and providing expectant mothers with basic services and accurate hygiene information are vital in order to reduce maternal mortality rates and meet global goals for ending preventable child deaths.

Caring for disabled, sick and older family members usually falls to women and girls, as it is considered to be domestic work. The tasks include washing, supporting persons going to the toilet and collecting water. Boys are often forced into the workforce rather than being able to stay at school, to compensate for the loss of income. During a visit to Nepal with WaterAid last year, I saw first-hand the problems that women experience when living without adequate sanitation. I saw how a simple latrine can really transform lives, impacting on health, safety, dignity and education.

In a small village called Thecho on the outskirts of Kathmandu, I met women who were part of a women’s co-operative that was set up to oversee the construction and maintenance of eco-friendly household latrines, vastly improving the quality of life in the community. The previous unsanitary environment had led to serious health concerns. More than this, it was evident that sanitation had a clear and significant impact on dignity, education and livelihoods. Before they had latrines, they had no choice but to defecate in the open. The women said that this put them at risk of harassment and even attack.

My most memorable experience on that visit was marching in my first ever street demonstration—it is never too late to learn. Kathmandu is quite used to strikes and demonstrations, but a street march of 1,000 Nepalis, mainly women, calling for clean water and sanitation for all by 2030 was one of the more unusual scenes it will have seen—perhaps even more unusual for having a Member of the House of Lords in attendance. Unusual or not, I hope that the dignity march helped to bring home the message.

Investment in WASH really is one of the most efficient and effective development interventions that can help efforts to bring about gender equity. Mr Cash’s hope is that this Bill will be a small contribution towards ending the marginalisation and abuse of women which is all too common in many developing countries. I believe the aims of the Bill to be uncontroversial and, since amendments can readily scupper a Private Member’s Bill such as this, I am sure that no one will think of opposing these important measures. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their splendid contribution to this very important debate. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hussein-Ece, for drawing attention to the proposed new law in Afghanistan which could increase the violence against women, and to their bravery. The noble Lord, Lord Quirk, was a distinguished vice-chancellor of London University 30 years ago. I expect we all hope that when we reach his age we will still be able to speak so lucidly and with such courage on so many different topics. He reminds me of the time when I had to give a speech to several hundred people. I went in, and in the front row, there was a man who had just celebrated his 100th birthday, so I took the microphone down and I said to him, “Congratulations on your 100th birthday. I expect they’d much rather listen to you than to me”, and he took the microphone and made a speech. How right he was! He said that he was interviewed in the village in Kent where he lived, and the BBC interviewer asked, “Have you lived the whole of your life in this village?”. “Not yet”, he said. I hope we will be that bright when we are that age.

I thank my noble friend Lady Jenkin for her contribution and especially for mentioning what a great contribution Andrew Mitchell made in DfID. The noble Lord, Lord Loomba, drew attention again to the fact that the Government are maintaining their 0.7% help to developing countries and how important that is. I was amazed when my noble friend Lady Hodgson arrived and gave such a splendid speech because only three hours ago, she had an operation. These ladies are tough. The noble Baroness, Lady Farrington, emphasised that the attitude of males must be changed, not before time. The noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, mentioned the help she had from WaterAid. I should point out that it was WaterAid that had me marching around the streets of Kathmandu.

I thank the Minister for the promise of government support, and finally I thank all noble Lords for their contributions.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.