Civil Society

Citation:

Zwarteveen, Margreet, and Ruth Meinzen-Dick. 2001. “Gender and Property Rights in the Commons: Examples of Water Rights in South Asia.” Agriculture and Human Values 18 (1): 11–25.

Authors: Margreet Zwarteveen, Ruth Meinzen-Dick

Abstract:

In many countries and resource sectors, the state is devolving responsibility for natural resource management responsibility to "communities" or local user groups. However, both policymakers and researchers in this area have tended to ignore the implications of gender and other forms of intra-community power differences for the effectiveness and equity of natural resource management. In the irrigation sector, despite the rhetoric on women's participation, a review of evidence from South Asia shows that organizations often exclude women through formal or informal membership rules and practices. Women may have other ways to obtain irrigation services, but even if they are effective, these other informal ways of obtaining irrigation services are typically less secure. As resource management – and rights to resources – are transferred from the state to local organizations, ensuring women's participation is essential for gender equity in control over resources. Greater involvement of women can also strengthen the effectiveness of local organizations by improving women's compliance with rules and maintenance contributions. Further detailed and comparative research is required to identify the major factors that affect women's participation and control over resources, if devolution policies are to be both equitable and sustainable.

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Women, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation, Rights, Property Rights Regions: Asia, South Asia

Year: 2001

Citation:

Resurrección, Bernadette P. 2008. “Gender, Legitimacy and Patronage-Driven Participation: Fisheries Management in the Tonle Sap Great Lake, Cambodia.” In Gender and Natural Resource Management: Livelihoods, Mobility and Interventions, edited by Bernadette P. Resurreccion and Rebecca Elmhirst, 151-74. London: Earthscan.

Author: Bernadette P. Resurrección

Topics: Civil Society, Economies, Gender Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Cambodia

Year: 2008

Citation:

Meinzen-Dick, Ruth, and Margreet Zwarteveen. 1998. “Gendered Participation in Water Management: Issues and Illustrations from Water Users' Associations in South Asia.” Agriculture and Human Values 15 (4): 337–45.

Authors: Ruth Meinzen-Dick, Margreet Zwarteveen

Abstract:

The widespread trend to transfer irrigation management responsibility from the state to “communities” or local user groups has by and large ignored the implications of intra-community power differences for the effectiveness and equity of water management. Gender is a recurrent source of such differences. Despite the rhetoric on women’s participation, a review of evidence from South Asia shows that female participation is minimal in water users’ organizations. One reason for this is that the formal and informal membership criteria exclude women. Moreover, the balance between costs and benefits of participation is often negative for women because complying with the rules and practices of the organization involves considerable time costs and social risks, whereas other ways to obtain irrigation services may be more effective for female water users. Although effective, these other and often informal ways of obtaining irrigation services are also typically less secure. More formal participation of women can strengthen women’s bargaining position as resource users within households and communities. Greater involvement of women can also strengthen the effectiveness of the organization by improving women’s compliance with rules and maintenance contributions. Further detailed and comparative research is required to identify the major factors that affect women’s participation and control over resources, if devolution policies are to address the tension between objectives of transferring control over resources to community institutions, and ensuring the participation of all members of the community, especially women.

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Women, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Asia, South Asia

Year: 1998

Citation:

Mayoux, L. 1995. “Beyond Naivety - Women, Gender Inequality, and Participatory Development.” Development and Change 26: 235-258.

Author: L. Mayoux

Abstract:

In recent years, participatory development has become an established orthodoxy among development agencies across the political spectrum; at the same time, the importance of consulting with and recruiting women has been highlighted in most discussions of participatory strategies. Drawing on the author's own research and a range of secondary sources, this article focuses on gender aspects of participatory projects. The evidence suggests that gender inequalities in resources, time availability and power, influence the activities, priorities and framework of participatory projects just as much as 'top-down' development and market activities. Contrary to the view of a number of writers and activists on participatory development, increasing the numbers of women involved in participatory projects cannot, therefore, be seen as a soft alternative to specific attention to change in gender inequality. Meeting the demands of poor women in the South will require not only local participatory projects, but a linking with wider movements for change in the national and international development agenda.

Topics: Civil Society, Development, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality

Year: 1995

Citation:

Tobin, Angela. 2012. "Widows and Community Based Transitional Justice in Post Genocide Rwanda." British Journal of Community Justice 10 (1): 27-39.

Author: Angela Tobin

Abstract:

After decades of cycles of violence between Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda, 1994 witnessed genocide more effective than Hitler's gas chambers (Carlsson, 2005) costing the lives of estimates between 500,000 (Desforges, 1999) to one million people (Gourevitch, 1998). The way communities and families killed neighbours and relatives has been documented by many. In light of the localised nature of this conflict, this contribution suggests that the community should be involved in the delivery of justice as part of an effort to repair the social bonds that were damaged. This article will focus on women's relationship to transitional justice in the aftermath of the conflict. The role of community-based organisations and the support they provided to widows of the conflict will be considered. Widows have been selected as the focal point as they represent a distinctive group: they must contend with gender-specific challenges in the wake of their loss and adapt to become responsible for tasks which they previously depended on male relatives to complete. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and Gacaca, the formal judicial and quasi judicial models developed to aid all concerned with the means to face what had happened in order to live together peacefully, have been subject to much criticism; these will be discussed. The article will draw on empirical research exploring community-based projects that were supported by a women's charity, established to support widows and orphans in the aftermath of the genocide. Their efforts will be presented as an efficient and effective strategy of transitional justice, due to its location in the community.

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Women, Genocide, Justice, International Tribunals & Special Courts, Transitional Justice, NGOs, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Rwanda

Year: 2012

Citation:

Zwarteveen, Margreet and Vivienne Bennett. 2005. “The Connection between Gender and Water Management.” In Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America, edited by Vivienne Bennett, Sonia Dávila-Poblete, and María Nieves Rico, 13-29. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Authors: Margreet Zwarteveen, Vivienne Bennett

Annotation:

Bennett and Zwarteveen challenge the assumption that the domestic water world of women and the production / irrigation water world of men are distinct and nonoverlapping. Instead, they argue that absenting women entirely from discourses on production and irrigation can have dire implications for their households’ survival, particularly if male out-migration places a woman in charge of managing the land. By acknowledging that water systems are interlocking and that the roles of men and women (especially in informal water management) are fluid, policy makers can pursue more nuanced water management designs that account for the different experiences and priorities of both men and women. This, however, will be a difficult process, as it will entail uprooting deeply ingrained connections between masculine identities and irrigation management, altering existing divisions of labor that allocate water responsibilities to women without the associated rights, and fundamentally shifting the framing of water-oriented discourses.

Quotes:

“Gender bias refers both to unequal access to resources (land, water, credit, new technologies, etc.) and to gender-differentiated access to the process of making and implementing decisions. What is important is not “who does what” but the exclusiveness of role distribution and its implications for resource allocation and the distribution of power.” (14)

“Though planners and policy makers signal the enormous cost of implementing water supply for all, a gendered analysis shows that water resource projects are vitally flawed when the role of women is left invisible. Acknowledging women’s expertise and needs regarding water resources leads to more comprehensive planning, more effective projects, and significant gains for women, as well as their families and communities.” (18)

“Women’s lack of more or less formally recognized powers, claims, and rights to irrigation water is not only unjust, undemocratic, and inequitable, it may also lead to inefficiencies. For irrigation systems to run smoothly and effectively, there must be a balance between rights (to water, infrastructure, and to participation in decision making) and responsibilities.” (24)

“Water worlds are not just gendered at the level of users. Even where most water policies no longer assume gender neutrality of users, water users typically continue to be conceptualized as atomic individuals… understanding [gender as social relations] involves approaching women not only as individuals and as a social category whose problems appear to be somehow connected to characteristics of this category but also as parties to sets of social relations (involving resources, rights, responsibilities, and meanings) with men and other women through which what it is to be a women, in that time and social place, is defined and experienced.” (28)

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Gender Roles, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation, Rights, Women's Rights

Year: 2005

Citation:

Sultana, Farhana. 2009. “Community and Participation in Water Resources Management: Gendering and Naturing Development Debates from Bangladesh.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 34 (3): 346–63.

Author: Farhana Sultana

Abstract:

Community and participation have become popular in development discourse and practice, particularly in the global South and in relation to water resources management. Greater involvement of people in decision making, implementation and evaluation of water management practices is expected to increase efficiency and equity in water projects. However, scholars have pointed out that such discourses are often problematically used and idealised, leading to the exacerbation of gender, class and other social differentiations. Drawing from a case study of drinking water contamination by arsenic in Bangladesh, this article examines the mobilisation and outcomes of participation and community in water provision and arsenic mitigation. Water hardship, conflicts and marginalisations are found to be products of social processes (that are gendered, classed and spatialised) as well as natural processes (local geohydrology, depth of arsenic sediments), in addition to the very ways that community and participation are conceptualised and practised. Nature ⁄ water comes to play a critical role in the ways that development interventions play out, thereby complicating the general debates around community and participation. This article seeks to problematise the ways that considerations of both the roles of nature and gender power relations can be more critically and productively engaged in development geography. As such, the article brings together debates in nature–society geography and development geography to argue that scholars studying community and participation need to pay greater attention not only to gender and spatial power relations, but also to the importance of geographical locations and the agency of heterogeneous nature in the ways water management and development interventions fail and succeed, and are thereby critiqued. More adaptive, reflexive and inclusive development realities that are simultaneously embedded in society and nature may then be envisioned, and more nuanced understandings of nature-in-development enabled.

Annotation:

In this article, Sultana challenges the trend amongst development policymakers to assume that community participatory water management institutions, by default, equally benefit all members of the community. Chief among her critiques is the fact that most discourses on this subject operate on an imaginary construct of community homogeneity, thus failing to take into account the complex interlocking gender and class-based hierarchical systems that structure communal water resource management. Further, Sultana calls for a synthesis of the separate strands of literature on nature-society relations and community / participatory projects, on the grounds that by directing attention towards nature’s inherent heterogeneity and unpredictability, scholars can better understand the evolution and thus specific societal role of water management institutions in a community. Sultana bases her arguments on a study of Bangladesh villages where differentiated arsenic distribution was instrumental in determining whether the development of water management institutions reinforced or subverted existing societal hierarchies.

Quotes:

“Traditional notions of participation in village life are often worked out through patronage systems and kinship structures. It is within such unequal set-ups that participatory water management projects often embed themselves and thereby perpetuate cycles of inequality. As a result, participation is a process that involves conflict and consensus, within broader historical factors and constraints, and not just a mechanism to facilitate project success or a set of techniques, although this is primarily how it has been treated in most development projects.” (349)

“Blindly assuming that having rich or elite women participate in the [water management] project leads to ‘gender mainstreaming’ can be problematic, as exclusions and privilege may become institutionalized...There may be a range of different lines of connection and differences that situate women differently from each other, and the myth of female solidarity thus does not hold up to the ways that women may choose to pursue different desires, connections, and needs (for example, not all women in a neighborhood may be similarly exposed to contaminated water or have similar water needs).” (349)

“Given that participation activities are largely conducted in public spaces, or what are perceived to be public activities of decision making and sharing opinions, notions of femininity and masculinity can be challenged when women and marginalized men are involved.” (350)

“While most women felt that they should have more decision making powers, and expressed interest in voicing their opinions and having more decision making capacities, the majority were not willing to challenge the norms and authorities of their husbands, fathers, brothers or elders in order to do so.” (358)

Topics: Civil Society, Class, Development, Economies, Economic Inequality, Environment, Gender, Women, Men, Masculinity/ies, Femininity/ies, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equity, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Asia, South Asia Countries: Bangladesh

Year: 2009

Citation:

Hemson, David. 2002. “‘Women Are Weak When They Are Amongst Men’: Women’s Participation in Rural Water Committees in South Africa.” Agenda: Empowering Women For Gender Equity 52: 24–32.

Author: David Hemson

Annotation:

In this article, Hemson uses existing quantitative studies on water development projects in South Africa to formulate a series of conclusions on the potential for water management to function as a mechanism for the empowerment of women. He argues that one of the primary reasons for the failure of some water projects is the exclusion of women from leadership roles and meaningful participation (despite the fact that it is women’s lives that are most directly affected by changes in water policy). When women are included in these committees, they are often present as a token of gender inclusion (to comply with new government requirements), they are never given substantive leadership roles, and they rarely verbally participate. Even in communities where prevalent male migration has given women greater decision-making responsibilities, there is a tendency towards “deferred participation,” meaning that women postpone decision-making out of psychological deference to the absent male. Hemson concludes with a series of recommendations for improving women’s participation in water management, including provision of / access to adult education, gender-sensitivity training, and technical training.

Quotes:

“This [the transformation of water provision into a public and political issue] has produced a marked divergence between domestic responsibilities and the public administration of water. While women have responsibility for family health and access to water, both menial and domestic issues, water projects are prestigious and public; this has led to the domination by men who feel most capable in this sphere.Thus women remain responsible for domestic water supply but without the power to ensure that delivery is effective and continuous.” (30)

Topics: Civil Society, Development, Gender, Women, Gender Roles, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2002

Citation:

Ennis-McMillan, Michael C. 2005. “Women, Equity, and Household Water Management in the Valley of Mexico.” In Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America, edited by Vivienne Bennett, Sonia Dávila-Poblete, and María Nieves Rico, 137-153. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Author: Michael C. Ennis-McMillan

Annotation:

Quotes:

“Because women often have the primary responsibility for managing crucial household resources, their increasing role outside the household in accessing such resources indicates how social change and power struggles over household consumption spill over into social relations outside the domestic sphere.” (139)

“As development specialists explore how to incorporate women into water management, it is critical to realize that installing piped water systems involves more than simply applying engineering principles and transferring new technology. Water control systems are also cultural systems that emerge from particular histories, meanings, and practices.” (139)

“Although women’s status is changing, both men and women often commented that women’s participation in local water management makes sense because of, and not despite, traditional gender norms and expectations. Women have extended their traditional roles as managers of water in the household to community water management…” (151)

Topics: Civil Society, Development, Gender, Gender Roles, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Americas, North America Countries: Mexico

Year: 2005

Citation:

Delgado, Juana Rosa Vera. 2005. “Irrigation Management, the Participatory Approach, and Equity in an Andean Community.” In Opposing Currents: The Politics of Water and Gender in Latin America, edited by Vivienne Bennett, Sonia Dávila-Poblete, and María Nieves Rico, 109-122. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Author: Juana Rosa Vera Delgado

Annotation:

Quotes:

“The women of Llullucha were clearly not passive victims of the prevailing rules and discourses that prevented their access to land, water, or knowledge. They actively resisted, building their agency to take advantage of even the smallest openings… They proved that women can participate in an integrated water management project and that water management is not the exclusive realm of engineers or men, despite the initial bias of the IMA water management project.” (116)

“When we researched the participation of Llullucha women in the emerging water user organization, we found that it was not even considered by the comuneros or by the engineers. There was nothing regarding how women might be able to participate in decision making or occupy a position of authority. As a result, only men discussed then decided the requirements for accessing water, and they did so according to their prevailing, typically patriarchal, ideology… Evidence from around the world shows when a social organization for managing a water system is formalized, women become invisible at the formal level of participation.” (120)

“The extent to which gender can be integrated with water management policies does not depend only on the resoluteness of technicians in deconstructing their ideology regarding womanhood or manhood and their willingness to cross boundaries. It also depends on the willingness and capability of authorities and institutions to listen, integrate, and promote gender equity in all types of social action.” (122)

Topics: Civil Society, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equity, Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Bolivia

Year: 2005