Gender

Gender issues are not just women's issues - it involves men as well. Giving additional space to women's voices in community decisions means men have to change their traditional roles and attitudes. This is as difficult for men as for women, and both need support and guidance through this process of change.

Women have a major role in domestic rural water supply. They collect water every day, and use this water to fill the drinking water pots, cook food, wash clothes, clean the house, water the animals and the gardens. This is in addition to their traditional role of looking after the house, the children, others in the family, the animals and the garden, collecting fodder and fuelwood, leading in religious rituals and festivals - and even helping in the family business: often, women advise their farmer husbands on what to plant that season, and also manage the family finances.

Women are not consulted in decisions on domestic water supply. Despite their major role as users and providers of water supply, and their role as managers of their houses, women are hardly ever part of community decisions on domestic water supply. Suddenly women are "not educated enough to be sent for training", not "sufficiently technically-oriented" to be appointed as a pump operator or a caretaker, not "important enough" to decide where the new hand pumps are to be located. These important decisions are taken by men - who hardly ever collect domestic water from distant sources during shortages in summer, or are forced to manage the house with less and less water.

Women on the VWSC brings the voice of a major stakeholder. Although the Swajaldhara guidelines do not insist on a minimum number of women representatives on the VWSC, even having 50% of women on the VWSC is perhaps no guarantee that women's issues and perspectives will be included in community decision-making on water supply. Women SHG leaders are today more confident and assertive than other community women. It may therefore be better if some SHG leaders are represented on the VWSC - even if in small numbers. For, even two strong, self-confident women can bring about more change than 50% of reticent and under-confident women representatives on the VWSC.

Supporting women needs more measures than mere representation on the VWSC. While representation on the VWSC is a necessary step, it is by no means sufficient to bring women's issues into decision-making. But even strong women's representation is only another step on the way. For, women face more constraints to do even ordinary project-tasks like attending meetings and training programmes. They have to be facilitated to attend: someone has to help look after their children, family, livestock and other responsibilities while they go to attend trainings or meetings. If trainings are conducted outside the village, they need to go in a group. They may need help to convince not just their husbands, but the other women in their houses, to let them go for exposure visits, meetings and training programmes.

Women are major users of water supply systems. Their voice needs to be heard in decision-making concerning water supply. And this requires facilitation and support.

Some measures that support women's participation are:

• Inform women about all major project related activities, including timing of meetings, opportunities for training, decisions to be taken, etc.
• Involve women in all major decisions, such as:
  • The initial decision by the village whether or not to opt for the Swajaldhara programme
  • Selection of members of the VWSC and HWSG/C
  • Selection of community men and women to be sent for training

• Involve women in major project activities, including:
  • Awareness Generation - such as how to spread information to different sections of village communities
  • Capacity Building - especially, planning and facilitating the participation of other women
  • Collection of contributions - using their SHG and other social networks
  • Procurement of materials - for construction
  • Monitoring of construction - including checking the quality of materials used, whether construction is according to design, etc.

Links to

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Swajaldhara / Start-up / Planning / Implementation / Operation & Maintenance / Tools and Resources (India)

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