A life dealing with water: women and urban water under occupation

This article analyzes the water infrastructure in the occupation of the West Bank and how its control unfolds in the lives of my interlocutors. By examining domestic water usage, we access two analytical scales. The first reveals the biopolitics of water control through Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. The second exposes the ways in which some women produce everyday life and how water management influences gender individuation processes. To do this, I resort to a “patchwork of stories and maps”. Through interviews and documentary and ethnographic secondary sources, it was possible to observe the impact of water control on the lives of Palestinian women. The constant quest for water and its management within families establishes a life “in function of water”, highlighting the role of care work in city construction.

KEYWORDS
Water; Gender; Palestine; Infrastructure; Care