Although irrigated farming at the head end of the Chhattis Mauja irrigation scheme in Nepal is increasingly, being done by women, female farmers do not formally participate in the scheme's organization.
Title | Free-riders or victims : women's nonparticipation in irrigation management in Nepal's Chhattis Mauja irrigation scheme |
Publication Type | Book |
Year of Publication | 1996 |
Authors | Zwarteveen, MZ, Neupane, N |
Secondary Title | Research report / IWMI |
Volume | no. 7 |
Pagination | v, 21 p. : 1 fig., 1 tab. |
Date Published | 1996-01-01 |
Publisher | International Irrigation Management Institute |
Place Published | Colombo, Sri Lanka |
ISBN Number | 9290903341 |
Keywords | cab97/3, chattis mauja irrigation scheme (nepal), community participation, division of labour, gender, irrigation, maintenance, nepal, projects, sdiasi, sdigen, villages, water user cooperatives, women's work |
Abstract |
Although irrigated farming at the head end of the Chhattis Mauja irrigation scheme in Nepal is increasingly, being done by women, female farmers do not formally participate in the scheme's organization. However, women's noninvolvement as formal members in meetings and the lack of female representation in the organization do not seem to negatively affect their access to irrigation services. On the contrary, women, succeed extremely well in getting their irrigation needs accommodated, in part because they are not formally participating in the scheme's management. This allows them to take more water than they are entitled to, as well as to contribute less labour to maintenance than they should without being punished. Because women are not recognized as members, the organization has difficulty enforcing its rules on women. At the same time, female farmers cunningly make use of the prevailing gender ideology, which pictures them as weak and in need of protection. Although this ideology does not reflect realities as perceived by women themselves, it strengthens them in their negotiations for more water and in their attempts to minimize their contributions to the scheme's maintenance. |
Notes | 9 ref. - Rev. and enl. from: Gender aspects of irrigation management : the Chattis Mauja irrigation system in Nepal (1995). In: Asia-Pacific journal of rural development, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 1-26. - URL: http://www.cgiar.org/iimi/report07.pdf |
Custom 1 | 202.1, 822 |