Groundwater development on Madura, Indonesia : gender issues in an irrigation project

An extensive tubewell irrigation system was installed on the island of Madura, Indonesia. It was found during the first phase of the project that women were not sufficiently integrated into the project. By Madurese custom, women are traditionally associated with land cultivation, and usually perform all labour after the plowing. Women have also been directly responsible for all aspects of farming, as the male migration rate in Madura is high. A female can inherit more land than her brothers, leaving them free to seek higher paid work elsewhere. Female involvement in the project was very slight. Some problems associated with this lack of involvement were illiteracy, exclusion from meetings by men and/or social custom, lack of time to attend meetings and lack of response to female initiatives.