Femconsult Newsletter: Men, Women and Water Participatory Approaches in Water Management
Hill, Philippa, editor (1998)
no. 1, p. 2-14
The articles in this newsletter focus on the relationship between men and women water users and the two main uses of water; namely, for drinking and domestic use, including sanitation; and for agriculture, in particular, irrigation. To achieve the objectives of integrated water management and efficient water use in these areas, user participation is essential to establish the needs and priorities of the different categories of water users and to obtain their commitment and ownership. While the need for a gender approach is increasingly recognized in the domestic sector, it is not so readily translated into planning practices in the irrigation sector.
The first article notes that the participation of women in water supply projects enhances the success and efficiency of such projects. The involvement of women lightens their burden through the improved design and siting of water collection facilities, and their status within the family and community improves when they receive technical training, are elected as pump caretakers or become members of community committees. Less desirable effects include receiving lower pay than men for the same maintenance work; being relegated to the time-consuming positions of secretary or treasurer in committees while responsible, decision making positions are filled by men; or lacking a profitable way to spend time saved by providing water closer to their houses. As water becomes scarce, it is essential to ensure that low income households, many headed by women, do not spend an unreasonable part of their income on water. Class-sensitive gender analysis is necessary in water supply and sanitation projects at both the preparation and implementation phase to avoid situations where women end up with unpaid or poorly paid jobs, are left out of decision making, have access only to low level functions, or remain untrained in technical and management matters.
The second article describes the attempts of GKF (Gremeen Krishi Agricultural Foundation) in the North-West Region of Bangladesh to involve women in its irrigation program. The gender strategy of GKF is showing signs of success with women working as co-farmers on family land, as agricultural wage labourers, in groups cultivating jointly leased or sharecropped land and as female heads of households cultivating owned or sharecropped land. Women have been found to be very interested in and capable of managing irrigation equipment and irrigated crop production and this has strengthened their self-confidence and reduced their dependence on male intermediaries.
In analysing gender relations and irrigated land policies in Burkino Faso, the third article finds that in households where both men and women own irrigated plots, land and labour productivity are higher, the income received by women increases sharply, and the proportion of labour contributed by women to the plots owned by men remains unchanged. Women are found to be equally good or even better irrigation farmers than men and the effect of women having their own plots is to improve their bargaining position within a household.
The final article details the results of a mission carried out in Macedonia investigating why the participation of farmers in irrigation management is often limited to male farmers despite the fact that women are heavily involved in irrigation agriculture. To enable women to benefit from a project and to ensure the achievement of a project's objectives are important reasons for the participation of women farmers as well as men in irrigation projects. In order to increase women's participation, project staff should ensure that the person most involved in a particular activity receives training, regardless of gender; that the person involved in irrigation activities (whether male of female) attends meetings discussing irrigation scheduling and practices; and that both men and women farmers attend meetings meant to inform or consult farmers about projects in more general terms.
