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NEWS 2 August 2006 GENDER EQUITY IN PARTICIPATORY IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT — EXPERIENCES FROM INDIA While working as a team leader on the World Bank funded Andhra Pradesh Economic Restructuring Project on Role of Gender (Women) in Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM), I had discussions with the Government of AP on incorporating gender concerns in policy. In spite of willingness in government towards building policy space for gender, the lack of a legal framework was found to be a major concern. To fill this gap, I am helping to redraft the regulations on Water Users Association (WUA), which may provide necessary knowledge base to policy planners in Government of Andhra Pradesh. To detail the context of the issue, in all states of India, women spend almost two thirds of their time in on-farm activities. However, they remain "voiceless" when it comes to taking decisions in sharing and management of water for irrigation. Thus, Gender equity in Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) is a crucial issue. Irrigation sector reforms have been a priority area among economic sector reforms in Andhra Pradesh. Although women's empowerment concerns have been raised both in the Vision 2020 document of the state as well as the AP Water Vision, there have been no initiatives to engender irrigation sector policy and more importantly, to support women's inclusion in WUAs. Women's status in the WUA is restricted as only legal owners of land have voting rights and most land is under ownership of men. Additional obstacles in women's inclusion despite the reforms are:
I therefore request members to share their experiences in the following areas on ensuring gender equity in PIM: 1. Successful examples of women's involvement in PIM, enabling them to play a key role in decision making within WUAs. 2. Suitable mechanisms for enhancing the qualitative representation of women within the WUAs in addition to focusing on increasing their numerical strength? 3. Existing or potential legal and mandatory interventions enabling women to be at par with men in decision making on water sharing and management issues? Summary of Responses The query on gender equity in Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) elicited a wide range of responses from members. They emphasised that although women provide almost 70% of the labour in agriculture, they rarely get a chance to participate in decision-making. Respondents also deliberated on some of the legal, political, socio-cultural and capacity building constraints preventing women from becoming members of Water Users' Associations (WUAs), exercising their voting rights, contesting elections and being part of the Executive Committees. As one of the main legal factors inhibiting women's participation in PIM, the group listed that women's lack of legal rights over land has long-term repercussions. This restricts their ability to control resources and access credit. To correct this imbalance, members suggested that all further land purchased be joint owned by both the husband and wife. They also recommended that all future participatory irrigation acts compulsorily include women as members and ensure they have voting rights within WUAs. Participants pointed out that PIM programmes need to facilitate women's inclusion in WUAs. Ensuring adequate number of women members within WUAs provides them the confidence to participate fully in this traditionally male dominated space. For example, members shared a project in Kenya which held a special meeting for women and ensured that in all the preparatory and committee meetings, at least half of the participants were women. This approach increased women's participation and knowledge of the project. The issue of representation of women in management and decision making in WUAs occupied much of members' attention. They felt that the rules of WUAs need to be changed, allowing women to represent their husbands and vote. Members quoted a case from Orissa, where men allowed their wives entry into the WUA. Additionally, governments could amend PIM Acts so women would have a legal right to participate in WUA. The Madhya Pradesh government has already modified its Farmer Management of Irrigation Systems Act, which mandates the participation of one male and one female member from every land-owning household in the command area of an irrigation system, making it possible for women to become formal members of WUAs. Members suggested that the draft Uttar Pradesh PIM Act, which touches on women's participation, could further expand its scope. Similarly, members wrote about two projects that include women formally in WUAs. In a project from the Philippines, farmers insisted on involving husband and wife teams in all WUAs. In a tank management project in Karnataka the WUA consists of all water users regardless of landholdings and reserves seats for women within the managing committee. Along with the above-mentioned mechanisms for including women, the group suggested making mandatory the appointment of women office bearers (or even chairpersons) to subcommittees and reserving seats for women on the WUA Executive Committee. At the same time members warned that merely increasing women's representation in WUAs will be insufficient if the goal is to improve their participation. They underscored the importance of building the capacities of women to allow them to emerge from the shadows of male WUA members and actively participate in decision-making. For instance, the Madhya Pradesh Water Sector Restructuring Project (MPWSRP) is training women functionaries and presidents of WUAs to improve their leadership skills, better exercise their voting rights and empower them to express their views in the WUA meetings. Members also noted that given the crucial role women play in irrigation management, it is necessary to improve their technical competence. Areas identified for training included new irrigation technologies and improved irrigation practices- such as maintenance, lining of canals, optimal water flow and velocity, and construction of irrigation systems. Women, as the primary water managers on farms, would greatly benefit from such training since it would enhance their understanding of water use efficiency. A project in Gujarat successfully employed this strategy, involving women in almost all aspects of irrigation management. This inclusion increased the community's overall agriculture production, enhanced women's capacity to manage irrigation systems and resources, and in addition gave the women greater confidence. In addition, respondents highlighted that engendering the training process will improve outreach. Most programmes hold trainings away from where women live. This adversely affects the involvement of women because attending requires travelling and taking additional time away from their household responsibilities. Instead, members contended, training programmes for women in PIM need to be as close to their homes as possible. Also, tracking gender disaggregated data on attendance and appointing women trainers could further improve the reach and impact of irrigation training programmes. Additionally, since Irrigation Department officials are vital PIM stakeholders, the group recommended gender sensitizing departmental staff. In the overall discussion about including women in PIM, members also drew attention to larger societal issues related to gender, emphasising that unless changes occur in social and religious customs, mere legislative change will not achieve the desired outcome. Consequently, members suggested the following broad areas be looked in order to improve the environment for women's participation: a. Equal legal rights for women in land ownership and suitable amendments facilitating women's involvement in the Farmers Irrigation Management Acts b. Reservations for women from land owning and share cropping families in WUAs c. Radical changes in social and religious customs, such as elimination of dowry d. Create an enabling environment for women within families and government structures e. Stop sex determination tests, which often lead to female feticide In conclusion, the discussions underlined the importance of taking a gendered view of participatory irrigation management. The group also shared examples of preliminary field level efforts at addressing this. However, as is the case with most gender issues, the solutions lie in examining the broader socio-cultural, legal and political super structure. Members emphasised the need for continued work on the root causes of gender inequity in order to transform and empower women to assume equal status. Compiled by Bonani Dhar and Pankaj Kumar S., Resource Persons; additional research provided by Sarika Dhawan and Ramya Gopalan, Research Associates Source: Water & Environmental Sanitation Network (WES-Net India)
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