Your search found 4 records
1 Clement , F.; Nicol, Alan. 2019. Gender, poverty and politics along the real-virtual water spectrum. In Allan, T.; Bromwich, B.; Keulertz, M.; Colman, A. (Eds.). The Oxford handbook of food, water and society. New York, NY, USA: Oxford University Press. pp.251-267.
Gender analysis ; Women's participation ; Poverty ; Virtual water ; Political aspects ; Food systems ; Food production ; Water use ; Food security ; Water security ; Irrigation management ; Markets ; Labour
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 333.91 G000 ALL Record No: H049504)
(1.63 MB)
2 Karn, Sujeet; Sugden, Fraser; Sah, K. K.; Maharjan, J.; Shah, T. N.; Clement, F.. 2020. Shifting gender relations in agriculture and irrigation in the Nepal Tarai-Madhesh. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). 34p. (WLE Research for Development (R4D) Learning Series 10) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2020.211]
Gender relations ; Agricultural sector ; Women’s participation ; Women’s empowerment ; Gender equality ; Vulnerability ; Groundwater irrigation ; Communities ; Migration ; Role of women ; Farmers ; Land ownership ; Land tenure ; Water availability ; Irrigation canals ; Tube wells ; Climate change ; Water user associations ; Capacity building ; Social change ; Caste systems ; Households ; Livelihoods ; Villages ; Constraints ; Labour ; Poverty ; Economic resources ; Microfinance ; Remittances ; Enterprises ; Institutions ; Decision making ; State intervention / Nepal / Eastern Gangetic Plains / Tarai-Madhesh Region / Sunsari / Siraha / Ekamba Village Development Committee / Amaduwa Village Development Committee / Lohani / Kharotole / Bhagwanpur / Fulkahakati
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050103)
(2.95 MB)
This report explores how women perceive participation and empowerment vis-a-vis access to water and other agricultural resources in the Tarai/Madhesh of Nepal. The report argues that gendered vulnerability is indeed intricately connected with other axes of difference, such as caste and economic status, despite women’s critical role in agricultural production and their active engagement in access to water and irrigation in agriculture. Overall, women’s well-being seems to have decreased as a consequence of male out-migration. However, there are women who have also become empowered in new ways, taking up enterprise opportunities.
The authors point out that at the level of policy and external development interventions, a dominating narrative on women’s limited participation in agriculture being a result of ‘social norms’ exists. Public irrigation agencies have used this myth to absolve themselves of the responsibility for ensuring gender equality in program implementation.
The report concludes that strengthening equitable irrigation user groups alongside capacity building for farmers and program implementers are critical measures for improving women’s access to irrigation and overall well-being. Women should be ensured meaningful participation, including leadership roles.
Finally, this report recommends linking irrigation user groups to other income-generation schemes, and facilitating access to better credit, finance and agricultural inputs.
The authors point out that at the level of policy and external development interventions, a dominating narrative on women’s limited participation in agriculture being a result of ‘social norms’ exists. Public irrigation agencies have used this myth to absolve themselves of the responsibility for ensuring gender equality in program implementation.
The report concludes that strengthening equitable irrigation user groups alongside capacity building for farmers and program implementers are critical measures for improving women’s access to irrigation and overall well-being. Women should be ensured meaningful participation, including leadership roles.
Finally, this report recommends linking irrigation user groups to other income-generation schemes, and facilitating access to better credit, finance and agricultural inputs.
3 Dhungana, H.; Clement, F.; Otto, B.; Das, B. 2021. Examining social accountability tools in the water sector: a case study from Nepal. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 29p. (IWMI Research Report 179) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2021.211]
Social participation ; Accountability ; Water supply ; Budgeting ; Auditing ; Corruption ; Transparency ; Governance ; Participatory approaches ; Citizen participation ; Water resources ; Drinking water ; Water allocation ; Water, sanitation and hygiene ; Development aid ; Stakeholders ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Water user associations ; Political institutions ; Institutional reform ; Public services ; Legislation ; Women ; Inclusion ; Households ; Awareness ; Rural communities ; Case studies / Nepal / Dailekh / Achham / Goganpani Village Development Committee / Mastabandali Village Development Committee / Sanakanda Scheme / Kalikhola Bandalimadu Scheme
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050606)
(1.76 MB)
Enhancing accountability has become an important objective of the governance reforms over the past two decades. Yet, only a few studies have explored the use of social accountability tools in the water sector in particular. This report aims to fill this gap, based on a case study of a donor-funded water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) program in Nepal. We document and analyze the effects of two types of social accountability tools implemented by the program: public hearings and social audits. We examined how these tools have contributed to increased transparency, participation, voice and accountability, and in turn discuss their potential to reduce corruption. We relied on qualitative methods to collect data in two case study water supply schemes in two districts of Nepal. The study found that the social accountability tools provided a platform for water users to participate and deliberate on issues related to the execution of WASH schemes. However, the scope of accountability narrowly focused on the integrity of the water user committees but did not provide the political resources and means for communities to hold funding and implementing agencies accountable. Furthermore, attention to budget management has not provided space to address environmental and social justice issues related to payment of wages, access to water and decision-making processes in the design of the water scheme and water allocation. Findings from the study also indicate that the concept of deliberation and downward accountability, as envisioned in international development discourses, does not necessarily match with local power relationships and local cultural norms.
4 Buisson, Marie-Charlotte; Clement, F.; Leder, S. 2022. Women’s empowerment and the will to change: evidence from Nepal. Journal of Rural Studies, 94:128-139. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.06.005]
Women's empowerment ; Gender ; Social consciousness ; Leadership ; Political aspects ; Indicators ; Agriculture ; Households ; Decision making ; Villages / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051236)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016722001498/pdfft?md5=d8010caebe53df6079c705ea5234f45d&pid=1-s2.0-S0743016722001498-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051236.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051236.pdf
(0.57 MB) (587 KB)
A static and apolitical framing of women’s empowerment has dominated the development sector. In contrast, we assess the pertinence of considering a new variable, the will to change, to reintroduce dynamic and political processes into the way empowerment is framed and measured. This article uses a household survey based on the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and qualitative data collected in Nepal to analyze how critical consciousness influences women’s will to change the status quo and the role of visible agency, social structures, and individual determinants in those processes. A circular process emerges: women with higher visible agency and higher critical consciousness are more willing to gain agency in some, but not all, of the WEAI empowerment domains. This analysis advances current conceptualizations of empowerment processes: the will to change offers valuable insights into the dynamic, relational and political nature of women’s empowerment. These findings support the design of development programs aiming at increasing visible agency and raising gender critical consciousness and argue for improving the internal validity of women’s empowerment measurement tools.
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