In Maharashtra’s remote village of Denganmal, a practice exists that starkly illustrates the human cost of water scarcity. Here, men marry multiple women—known as “paani bai” or “water wives”—primarily to manage the overwhelming task of water collection.

The Burden Women Carry

Each day before sunrise, these women begin their arduous 12-hour round trip across rocky terrain under the scorching sun. They carry multiple vessels, each holding 15 liters of water—heavy loads balanced precariously on their heads.

Despite their crucial role in family survival, these women often have no legal rights to property, limited decision-making power, and in many cases, no conjugal rights. Their value is measured primarily by the water they can carry.

The physical toll is devastating: chronic neck and spinal injuries, anemia, disrupted fertility cycles, and malnutrition. Beyond physical health, there’s an immeasurable social cost. Children wait hours for their mothers to return to feed them. Infant mortality rates are high. Women resume water collection just days after childbirth.

This isn’t just Denganmal’s story. Across India and throughout the developing world, women and girls spend an estimated 200 million hours every single day fetching water—time that could be spent on education, income generation, or care.

Community Pure Water: Catalyzing Change

This is where Community Pure Water enters the narrative—not just as a provider of clean water, but as a catalyst for gender equity.
In villages where CPW has established water centers, remarkable shifts are occurring:

Breaking Gender Barriers

A senior citizen in Chak Madrasa, Punjab fills water from the CPW water purification center which has been sponsored by FMC.

With water centers established within communities, the extreme burden of water collection diminishes dramatically. The task no longer requires an entire day’s journey, making it accessible anytime to all family members—including men. This accessibility has begun reshaping deeply entrenched gender norms around water collection.

In many communities, more and more men now participate in water collection—a task previously considered exclusively “women’s work.” This shift represents a profound change in how communities view gender roles related to water.

Education and Opportunity

School enrollment for girls has increased significantly in communities with CPW centers. A mother in Kasod Shivpuri village in Maharashtra shares that her daughter, who once accompanied her on water collection trips, now attends school full-time and dreams of becoming a nurse.

“I used to think I would have to marry off my daughter at a young age, just as I was married,” she explains. “Now she will be the first woman in our family to study further, have a career, and be financially independent.”

Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders

With time now available in their days, women are pursuing income-generating activities and building financial independence. Sujatha from Ambatpally village used her newfound time to establish a small tailoring business from her home—something impossible when water collection consumed her day.

Sujatha takes a break from sewing for a drink of purified water

These entrepreneurial initiatives demonstrate how accessible water creates economic ripple effects throughout communities.

Many of CPW’s trained water center operators are women—the same women who once spent their days collecting water. Haritha, who operates the plant in Devuni Padkal village in Telangana, has transformed her role into a broader entrepreneurial opportunity. She now runs a shop adjacent to the plant, selling consumer goods like biscuits and chocolates, leveraging the steady footfall the water center receives. Her husband has started a complementary business, distributing purified water door-to-door for an extra charge, bringing additional income to their family.

Haritha demonstrates CPW’s water purification equipment in Devuni Padkal.

These women aren’t just operating technology; they’re becoming community leaders, experts on water quality, and role models for younger generations of girls who can now imagine futures beyond water collection.

Health Benefits

The health impacts are equally profound. Access to clean, safe water has reduced water related illnesses dramatically, cutting medical expenses and sick days. Women report fewer physical ailments as they no longer carry crushing loads of water daily, and children attend school more regularly instead of suffering from preventable water related diseases.

A Vision for the Future

The impact ripples throughout these communities: nutrition improves as women have time to prepare and eat proper meals; girls  enroll and remain in school longer increasing their earning potential by 20% every year (UN Women); and women’s participation in village governance grows as their time and status improve.

While we celebrate these successes, millions of women and girls continue to remain trapped in the cycle of water collection. The practice of “water wives” in places like Denganmal reminds us how far we still must go.

We envision a future where no woman’s worth is measured by the water she can carry. Where girls attend school rather than trek to distant wells. Where communities see women as leaders, entrepreneurs, and equal participants.

Every water center we establish brings us closer to this vision—transforming not just access to water, but the very fabric of gender relations in rural India.

Join us in turning the tide—one woman, one village, one water center at a time.