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Every March 22, the United Nations’ World Water Day calls attention to the importance of water and access to safe water. Yet these discussions on the importance of water often ignore how in many contexts, lack of clean water is a direct form of colonial violence, including here in Canada, disproportionately impacting Indigenous communities, particularly Indigenous women, Two-Spirit, and gender-diverse people. The ongoing water crisis is not just an environmental issue, but a gender justice issue. It is also an issue of menstrual justice.  

The systemic neglect of water infrastructure on reserves, driven by colonial policies and environmental racism, exacerbates the barriers Indigenous menstruators face in managing their periods with dignity. As we observe World Water Day, we must acknowledge access to clean water as fundamental to ensuring menstrual and gender justice and to achieving human rights.

The Colonial Legacy of Water Injustice

The lack of clean water on many Indigenous reserves is a direct consequence of colonial policies that forcibly displaced Indigenous peoples to remote areas where clean water is inaccessible, and water infrastructure is inadequate. Historically, these waters were safe and accessible, but the harmful impacts of resource extraction, hydroelectric projects, and contamination – driven by colonial and neoliberal agendas – have rendered them unsafe. The inability to access clean water is also an issue of access to hygiene. On some reserves, the water may so contaminated that it causes severe skin conditions such as scabs, sores, or eczema from bathing in it. When water is made usable for consuming and hygiene purposes, it is often accomplished by the labour of community members, who are more than often women. As a result, securing clean water becomes a labor-intensive, unpaid, and time-consuming responsibility that is domesticated and feminized, reinforcing gendered divisions of care work.

Despite Canada’s international reputation as a water-rich nation, the federal government has stated that they have no legal duty to ensure First Nations communities have clean drinking water. This deliberate negligence leaves Indigenous menstruators – who require clean water for hygiene, comfort, and health – without the resources needed to manage their periods with dignity. The financial burdens of purchasing bottled water for hygiene, in addition to the overpriced menstrual supplies in remote areas, deepens the economic hardships and social exclusion faced by menstruators.

Menstrual Justice and Water Justice

Water and menstrual justice are inextricably linked. Without access to clean water, menstruators cannot safely use reusable menstrual products or maintain basic hygiene. The lack of clean water for Indigenous communities is a form of ongoing colonial violence that is not only affecting the hygiene of Indigenous menstruators but invariably impacts Indigenous peoples’ relationships to and with water and menstruation. And yet, as settler colonial violence works to sever Indigenous peoples’ connections to land, culture, and family, Indigenous peoples have always resisted.

This crisis extends beyond Indigenous communities. Unhoused and incarcerated menstruators also experience significant barriers to managing their periods. Public washrooms often lack free menstrual products or privacy for unhoused folk to manage their menstrual cycles with privacy. Correctional facilities frequently restrict, deny, or weaponize the distribution of menstrual supplies and access to water for incarcerated menstruators.

In a country that prides itself on gender equity, human rights, and access to clean water, the realities faced by menstruators, particularly Indigenous menstruators and unhoused or incarcerated menstruators, across Canada is unacceptable.

A Call for Anti-Colonial Action

Addressing the intertwined injustices of water and menstruation requires an anti-colonial approach. The federal government must be held accountable for its failure to provide Indigenous communities with clean water and ensure equitable water infrastructure on reserves. In addition, unhoused and incarcerated menstruators in Canada must have reliable access to clean water so that they can manage menstruation with dignity. Water is not a luxury item, and neither are menstrual supplies. Universal access to safe and clean water and menstrual supplies is essential to ensure the safety, privacy, dignity, and human rights of all menstruators.

This is a water justice, menstrual justice, and gender justice issue that demands urgent action. We must dismantle the colonial and capitalist systems that commodify essential resources, advocate for policy changes that prioritize Indigenous water sovereignty, and challenge the social stigmas that keep menstrual and water justice on the sidelines.

On this World Water Day, let us commit to recognizing water and menstrual justice as fundamental human rights. Only by addressing these interconnected crises can we create a more just and equitable Canada.