📄 Abstract
Water is central to rural livelihoods in India, yet the labour involved in collecting, managing, and conserving water remains largely invisible and disproportionately borne by women. Under conditions of climate changemarked by erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and declining groundwater levelsthis invisible water labour has intensified, placing additional physical, emotional, and social burdens on rural women. Drawing on an ecofeminist perspective, this study examines how environmental degradation and patriarchal social structures intersect to shape womens everyday experiences of water scarcity in rural India. Ecofeminism provides a useful framework to understand the parallel exploitation of natural resources and womens labour, highlighting how womens close relationship with water sources is rooted not in choice but in socio-cultural expectations and survival needs. This study explores how increased distances to water sources, time poverty, health risks, and reduced opportunities for education and income generation affect womens lives across different rural contexts. It also analyses womens traditional ecological knowledge and coping strategies, which are often overlooked in formal water governance and climate adaptation policies. By foregrounding womens voices and lived experiences, the research seeks to challenge the invisibility of water labour and question development models that ignore gendered realities. The researchers in their research critically analyse the impact of climate changeinduced water scarcity on rural women in India through an ecofeminist perspective, highlighting the invisibility of womens water labour.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Dr. N Subbukrishna Sastry, Dr. Manjula Mallya M , INVISIBLE WATER LABOUR AND WOMEN'S LIVES: AN ECOFEMINIST ANALYSIS OF RURAL INDIA'S WATER CRISIS UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE , Volume 14 , Issue 1, January 2026, EPRA International Journal of Climate and Resource Economic Review (CRER) ,