Glass half empty or half full? Gender in integrated water resource management in South Asia

Abstract

This paper reviews the experience with gender mainstreaming in the water sector in South Asia. It analyzes the reasons for the limited impact of these efforts. These are located in the limited understanding and consequent operationalization of the concept of gender itself. Rather than equating the word gender with women, it needs to be understood to refer to the social and power differences between men and women and the differences within women. Gender needs to be approached in policy and practice through a lens of intersectionality. Reserving seats for women in local patriarchal structures of decision making does little to alter the status quo; securing women's participation in water management activities without altering power relations between water users and service providers only creates additional work burdens for them. The changing nature of water resources education in the region means that water problems shall be seen differently in the future and that there will be more women in this sector. There is a need to develop curricula based on ways of theorizing about gender and water in different agro‐ecological and institutional settings embedded in the unique context of South Asia.