Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to extend the human security and capability approach lenses to examine key dimensions of water and sanitation inequalities and the possible areas for policy and action.

Paper long abstract:

There are long term as well as temporary water inequalities in many cities in the Global South. These can be further exacerbated by conflicts including disputes of claims over water resources. In a previous work, one of us has explored the application of the capability approach (CA) to examining, explaining and resolving structural and systematic water inequalities (Anand, 2010). The aim of this paper is to connect both human security (HS) and the capability approach (CA) lenses to dig deeper into the headline level and also detailed indicators of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 and in particular in the context of sustainable cities and communities (SDG11).

In Political Liberalism, Rawls outlined a scheme for a just society and this scheme begins with a focus on basic liberties and mechanisms including constitutionalism, overlapping consensus, public reasoning as ways to achieve political liberalism. In trying to apply this schema in in the context of complex realities of Asia and Africa, we need to consider the existing mix of informal and formal institutions and how these converge in some instances but conflict in other instances. Where these do conflict, we can see that chaos is created with parallel and conflicting sets of norms or behavioural codes in existence.

Drawing upon the numerous papers of Gasper and the principles of justice enunciated in Sen (2007), we want to explore some of these real world cases including of flooding, droughts, water shortages and other rapid and well as slow onset climate induced disasters and how the pre-existing inequalities are accentuated by these disasters and some of the ways in which attempts are being made to reduce these highly unequal vulnerabilities. As Gasper noted, access to political power can be an important determinant here. Using civil society and grassroot action and documenting water inequalities including through the use of 'barefoot researchers' (Appadurai, 2005; PUKAR, 2022) and through participatory action research including community photography and videography can be a means to enhance public reasoning. We examine these and other approaches and some of the important ethical and pragmatic dilemmas.