Flowing upstream : empowering women through water management initiatives in India

Five in-depth case studies of civil society interventions from different parts of India which have struggled to resolve issues of women's participation, equity and sustainability in community-based water management systems. The case studies describe the promotion of decentralized and gender equitable water alternatives in coastal Gujarat; a campaign on women, water and work; attempts to involve women farmers in participatory irrigation management interventions in tribal dominated south Gujarat; women's groups managing community lift irrigation schemes in Jharkhand; and efforts in facilitating rights to water and land for women and the landless in Maharashtra. Emerging insights while located in a specific socio-economic, political and cultural context provide a menu of essential but not necessarily sufficient, ingredients towards a strategy for mainstreaming gender and equity rights in water management. Together, the case studies raise important questions on the social construction of water policy in India, the gender structure of facilitating organizations, networking and the role of learning in developing accountable and socially inclusive governance mechanisms for managing our natural resources. The book is aimed at development policy-makers, practitioners and professionals.