Women, Water, and Development

Abstract

That women play a central role in the provision, management, and safeguarding of water is one of the four internationally accepted principles of water management. This principle is especially important for the developing world where millions of women lack access to water for their basic needs. The objectives of this chapter are to summarize what is known about women with respect to water and about water with respect to women as well as to provide a sense of the current debates around these themes. A review of the literature suggests that the lack of gender-disaggregated data on the impacts of water policies, and underlying disagreements on how gender and development should be theorized, makes it difficult to reach robust conclusions on which policies can best assure poor women reliable access to water for their lives and livelihoods.

Safe access to safe water in low income countries: Water fetching in current times

“…Time spent may be a better indicator of the burden of fetching water in some locales. In densely populated areas, improved water sources might be nearby but waiting in line can take an hour or more (Ray, 2007). Women's workload in agricultural societies often exceeds that of men (Mpetsheni, 2001), and collecting water and heating fuel are two of the most time-consuming activities.…”

“…Research on the multiple impacts of fetching water on women's lives is incomplete, and the lack of gender-disaggregated data -as well as data on related health risks -obscures a more complete understanding of the unequal burden (Ray, 2007). Attendees at a recent Expert Group Meeting organized by the UN-Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development stressed the need for gender-disaggregated data (Seager, 2008).…”

A Gendered Analysis of Fisherfolk’s Livelihood Adaptation and Coping Responses in the Face of a Seasonal Fishing Ban in Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, India

“…These findings suggest that the reported importance of networks to women in particular, as indicated in other studies (Berry, 1989;Ray, 2007;Young, 1993), may not always translate into benefits to all women, only those of certain class groups. This finding further suggests that women in the study villages may require both networks and some basic level of household assets in order to avoid reactive responses.…”

“…For example, to secure access to water, women use informal social networks in the absence of formal rights (Ray, 2007). Along similar lines, other research has suggested that women are more likely to invest their time and energy into strengthening social networks at the expense of building productive capital, with the aim of securing access to resources especially during times of scarcity (Berry, 1989).…”

“…This also includes incorporating men into the gender discourse, as well as acknowledging that not all women or all men have the same experience or opportunities. Ray (2007) argues that this more nuanced understanding of gender is essential in understanding which individuals are impacted by natural resource management policies, and how they are affected.…”