Your search found 14 records
1 Upreti, B. R.; Shrestha, Gitta. 2017. The road to parliament: women in Nepal’s representative assemblies. In Kolas, A. (Ed.). Women, peace and security in Nepal: from civil war to post-conflict reconstruction. Oxon, UK: Routledge. pp.9-32.
Gender ; Women's participation ; Womans status ; Political systems ; Democracy ; Legislation ; Decision making / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048247)
2 Shrestha, Gitta; Upreti, B. R.; Kolas, A. 2017. Women, peace and security: the case of Nepal. In Kolas, A. (Ed.). Women, peace and security in Nepal: from civil war to post-conflict reconstruction. Oxon, UK: Routledge. pp.99-122.
Gender ; Women's participation ; Womans status ; Empowerment ; Political aspects ; Conflicts / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048248)
3 Shrestha, Gitta; Joshi, Deepa; Clement, Floriane. 2019. Masculinities and hydropower in India: a feminist political ecology perspective. International Journal of the Commons, 13(1):130-152. (Special issue: Feminist Political Ecologies of the Commons and Commoning). [doi: https://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.920]
Gender mainstreaming ; Women ; Political ecology ; Hydropower ; Gender equality ; Men ; Social aspects ; Human behaviour ; Risks ; Organizations ; Water institutions ; Public sector ; Private sector ; Case studies / India / Sikkim
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049290)
https://www.thecommonsjournal.org/articles/10.18352/ijc.920/galley/921/download/
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049290.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049290.pdf
(0.36 MB) (368 KB)
Mainstreaming gender in water governance through “how to do gender” toolkits has long been a development focus. It has been widely argued that such toolkits simplify the complex, nuanced realities of inequalities by gender in relation to water and fail to pay attention to the fact that the proposed users of such gender-water toolkits, i.e. mostly male water sector professionals, lack the skills, motivation and/or incentives to apply these toolkits in their everyday work. We adopt a feminist political ecology lens to analyse some of the barriers to reduce social inequalities in the management of global commons such as international rivers. Our findings highlight the leap of faith made in the belief that gender toolkits, as they exist, will filter through layers of a predominantly masculine institutional culture to enable change in ground realities of complex inequalities by gender. Analysing the everyday workings of two hydropower development organisations in India, we show how organisational structures demonstrate a blatant culture of masculinity. These two organisations, like many others, are sites where hierarchies and inequalities based on gender are produced, performed and reproduced. This performance of masculinity promotes and rewards a culture of technical pride in re-shaping nature, abiding by and maintaining hierarchy and demonstrating physical strength and emotional hardiness. In such a setting, paying attention to vulnerabilities, inequalities and disparities are incompatible objectives.
4 Shrestha, Gitta; Clement, Floriane. 2019. Unravelling gendered practices in the public water sector in Nepal. Water Policy, 21(5):1017-1033. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2019.238]
Water supply ; Public water ; Gender equality ; Gender equity ; Women's participation ; Water institutions ; Water user associations ; Corporate culture ; Water policy ; Decision making ; Attitudes ; Case studies / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049394)
https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-pdf/21/5/1017/614393/021051017.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049394.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049394.pdf
(0.22 MB) (228 KB)
Despite decades of gender mainstreaming in the water sector, a wide gap between policy commitments and outcomes remains. This study aims at offering a fresh perspective on such policy gaps, by analysing how gendered discourses, institutions and professional culture contribute to policy gaps. We rely on a conceptual framework originally developed for analysing strategic change, which is used to analyse gender in the public water sector in Nepal. Our analysis relies on a review of national water policies and a series of semi-structured interviews with male and female water professionals from several public agencies. Our findings evidence how dominant discourses, formal rules and professional culture intersect to support and reproduce hegemonic masculine attitudes and practices of water professionals. Such attitudes and practices in turn favour a technocratic implementation of policy measures. We argue that gender equality policy initiatives in the water sector have overly focused on local level formal institutions and have not adequately considered the effects of masculine discourses, norms and culture to be effective in making progress towards gender equity. We conclude with policy recommendations.
5 Leder, S.; Shrestha, Gitta; Das, D. 2019. Transformative engagements with gender relations in agriculture and water governance. New Angle: Nepal Journal of Social Science and Public Policy, 5(1):128-158. (Special issue: Water Security and Inclusive Water Governance in the Himalayas)
Gender relations ; Agriculture ; Water governance ; Participatory approaches ; Participatory research ; Gender training ; Community involvement ; Women farmers ; Labour ; Water resources ; Water management ; Villages ; Social aspects / Nepal / India / Eastern Tarai / Bihar / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049737)
http://www.nepalpolicynet.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/7_Leder-et-al-2019.pdf#page=4
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049737.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049737.pdf
(4.15 MB) (4.15 MB)
Despite frequent calls for transformative approaches for engaging in agrarian change and water governance, we observe little change in everyday development and research praxis. Empirical studies on transformative engagements with gender relations among smallscale or tenant farmers and water user groups are particularly rare. We explore transformative engagements through an approach based on critical pedagogy (Freire, 1996) and transformative practice (Leder, 2018). We examine opportunities to promote empathy and critical consciousness on gender norms, roles and relations in agriculture and resource management. We developed and piloted an innovative “Participatory Gender Training for Community Groups” as part of two internationally funded water security projects. The training consists of three activities and three discussions to reflect on gender roles in families, communities and agriculture, to discuss the gendered division of labour and changing gender relations over time and space, and to create empathy and resolve conflicts through a bargaining role play with switched genders. The approach was implemented in twelve villages across four districts in Nepal and India (Bihar, West Bengal). Our results show how the training methods can provide an open space to discuss local gender roles within households, agriculture and natural resource management. Discussing own gender norms promotes critical consciousness that gender norms are socially constructed and change with age, class, caste and material and structural constraints such as limited access to water and land. The activities stimulated enthusiasm and inspiration to reflect on possible change towards more equal labor division and empathy towards those with weaker bargaining power. Facilitators have the most important role in transformative engagements and need to be trained to reinterpret training principles in local contexts, and to apply facilitation skills to focus on transforming rather than reproducing gender norms. We argue that the gender training methods can initiate transformative practice with the gender-water-agriculture nexus by raising critical consciousness of farmers, community mobilisers, and project staff on possibilities of social change “in situ”.
6 Sharma, Akriti; Karki, Emma; Eriyagama, Nishadi; Shrestha, Gitta; Jeuland, M.; Bharati, Luna. 2020. Whose river is it?: an assessment of livelihood and cultural water flow requirements for the Karnali Basin. Ecology and Society, 25(3):22. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11763-250322]
Environmental flows ; River basins ; Livelihoods ; Sociocultural environment ; Assessment ; Water management ; Flow discharge ; Water levels ; Ecosystems ; Biodiversity ; Water pollution ; Water use ; Fisheries ; Irrigation ; Household consumption ; Tourism ; Riparian zones ; Local communities ; Women ; Sustainable development ; Socioeconomic aspects / Nepal / Karnali Basin / Terai Region / Hill Region
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050015)
https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol25/iss3/art22/ES-2020-11763.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050015.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050015.pdf
(1.07 MB) (1.07 MB)
The term “environmental flows” refers to a combination of features, including quantity, quality, and timing of water flows required to sustainably maintain a river’s health, balancing both ecological and societal needs. Incorporating basic human livelihood and sociocultural aspects in environmental flow assessments alongside ecological concerns provides a more holistic perspective on water flow management. Here, we provide an assessment that complements an ecosystem functioning lens by focusing solely on quantifying the flows associated with livelihood activities and spiritual water requirements of local riparian communities in the Karnali basin in Western Nepal. This assessment is based on the first social survey related to environmental flows conducted in the Karnali basin. We collected data using mixed methods, including social surveys, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions, across six locations in the Karnali basin that provide us with a rich and dynamic perspective on the relationship between rivers and their surrounding communities, and the challenges faced by those communities. Among the subsistence and spiritual requirements of local communities are uses for activities that include drinking, small-scale irrigation, domestic needs, fishing, and ceremonial usage. All communities we visited most strongly associated the following activities with water flow variation: small-scale irrigation, fishing, ceremonial usage, domestic needs, and tourism. The water flows required for these key activities were quantified, and results from the six sites are presented in the form of a qualitative scale of minimum water levels (ranging across poor, acceptable, and ideal) required to meet vital local needs. The minimum acceptable water flow requirement to satisfy social criteria is just > 20% of the mean annual runoff at the visited locations. These requirements are particularly vital to consider, given ongoing efforts to tap the vast hydropower potential in Nepal through construction of major storage projects. Such projects would change the flow regime of affected rivers and potentially raise concerns that existing demands might be compromised.
7 Khadka, Manohara; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Minh, Thai Thi; Nepal, Shambhawi; Raut, Manita; Dhungana, Shashwat; Shahrin, S.; Krupnik, T. J.; Schmitter, Petra. 2021. Understanding barriers and opportunities for scaling sustainable and inclusive farmer-led irrigation development in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). 92p.
Farmer-led irrigation ; Sustainability ; Smallholders ; Small scale systems ; Agricultural value chains ; Gender equality ; Inclusion ; Livelihoods ; Irrigation equipment ; Supply chains ; Water management ; Multiple use water services ; Public-private partnerships ; COVID-19 ; Policies ; Innovation scaling / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050731)
https://repository.cimmyt.org/bitstream/handle/10883/21683/64317.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050731.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050731.pdf
(1.87 MB) (1.87 MB)
8 Leder, S.; Shrestha, Gitta; Upadhyaya, R.; Adhikari, Y. 2022. COVID-19, gender, and small-scale farming in Nepal. In Castellanos, P.; Sachs, C. E.; Tickamyer, A. R. (Eds.). Gender, food and COVID-19: global stories of harm and hope. Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Routledge. pp.3-12. (Routledge Focus on Environment and Sustainability) [doi: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003198277-2]
COVID-19 ; Gender ; Small-scale farming ; Women farmers ; Smallholders ; Women's organizations ; Social inclusion ; Awareness-raising ; Food security ; State intervention ; Relief / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050956)
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003198277-2/covid-19-gender-small-scale-farming-nepal-stephanie-leder-gitta-shrestha-rachana-upadhyaya-yuvika-adhikari
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050956.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H050956.pdf
(10.90 MB) (10.9 MB)
9 Kafle, K.; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Pandey, V.; Mukherji, Aditi. 2022. Are climate finance subsidies equitably distributed among farmers? Assessing socio-demographics of solar irrigation in Nepal. Energy Research and Social Science, 91:102756. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102756]
Climate change ; Finance ; Subsidies ; Equity ; Smallholders ; Women farmers ; Gender ; Social inclusion ; Ethnic groups ; Solar powered irrigation systems ; Pumps ; Renewable energy ; Policies ; Monitoring / Nepal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051378)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629622002596/pdfft?md5=b3c3a4cbbfffa59eb12310860196fb23&pid=1-s2.0-S2214629622002596-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051378.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051378.pdf
(1.10 MB) (1.10 MB)
Solar-powered irrigation pumps are a vital tool for both climate change adaptation and mitigation. Since most developing countries cannot fully utilize large-scale global funds for climate finance due to limited institutional capacities, small-scale solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) can provide a climate-resilient technological solution. We study the case of a subsidized SIP program in Nepal to understand who likely benefits from a small-scale climate finance program in a developing country setting. We analyze government data on profiles of farmers applying for SIPs and in-depth interviews with different actors along the SIP service chain. We find that vulnerable farmers (women, ethnic minorities, and poor farmers) were less likely than wealthier and non-minority farmers to have access to climate finance subsidies. Even though the government agency gave preference to women and ethnic minority farmers during beneficiary selection, an unrepresentative pool of applicants resulting from social and institutional barriers that prevented them from applying to the program led to an inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. The lack of a clear policy framework for allocating climate finance subsidies was a significant constraint. Lack of periodic updating of SIP prices and poor provision of after-sale services were also responsible for the inequitable distribution of subsidized SIPs. We recommend the involvement of local governments in soliciting applications from a wider pool of farmers, periodic revision of SIP prices to reflect market price, replacement of the current fixed subsidy scheme with a variable subsidy scheme, and mandatory provisions of after-sales services.
10 Urfels, A.; Khadka, Manohara; Shrestha, Nirman; Pavelic, Paul; Risal, A.; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Dile, Y.; McDonald, A. J.; Pandey, V. P.; Srinivasan, R.; Krupnik, T. J. 2022. A framework for sustainable and inclusive irrigation development in western Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). 78p.
Irrigation management ; Sustainability ; Social inclusion ; Frameworks ; Water resources ; Watersheds ; Groundwater management ; Groundwater recharge ; Surface water ; Irrigation water ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Agricultural value chains ; Crop yield ; Investment ; Multi-stakeholder processes ; Gender equality ; Socioeconomic environment ; Technology ; Climate change ; Food security ; Resilience ; Policies ; Governance ; Capacity development ; Modelling ; Case studies / Nepal / Babai Watershed / Mahakali Watershed / Karnali Watershed / West Rapti Watershed / Lumbini / Sudurpashchim
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051550)
https://repository.cimmyt.org/bitstream/handle/10883/22102/65416.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051550.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051550.pdf
(3.12 MB) (3.12 MB)
11 Shrestha, Gitta; Pakhtigian, E. L.; Jeuland, M. 2023. Women who do not migrate: intersectionality, social relations, and participation in western Nepal. World Development, 161:106109. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106109]
Migration ; Gender ; Natural resources management ; Social aspects ; Intersectionality ; Women's participation ; Collective action ; Labour ; Households / Nepal / Karnali River Basin / Mahakali River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051757)
(0.67 MB)
Migration impacts left-behind populations, disrupting established norms of social interaction, participation, and inclusion. In western Nepal, labour migration is common among young men, with implications for household and community participation among those left behind, who are predominately women. In this study, we use mixed methods to examine how labour migration impacts the social inclusion of migrant households, especially, of left-behind women in community groups and activities. For our analysis, we use quantitative survey data from over 3600 households in the Karnali and Mahakali River Basins of western Nepal and qualitative data from 16 focus group discussions and 37 in-depth interviews held in the same region. Our analysis reveals substantial heterogeneity in the experiences of women and households left behind by migrants. Women’s opportunities to participate in economic systems such as natural resource user committees and non-governmental organisation trainings are moderated by intersecting identities including gender, caste/ethnicity, kinship, age, and economic status. Young women from nuclear, low caste, and poor households with limited social ties suffer from disadvantaged positions and face restricted access to spaces of participation. Accordingly, left-behind women’s opportunities to benefit from community resources remain dependent on their caste and kinship networks. These findings contribute to ongoing debates on the impacts of migration, and can help inform improved targeting of interventions to advance gender equity in rural Nepal.
12 Khadka, Manohara; Joshi, Deepa; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta. 2023. Gender and socially inclusive WASH in Nepal: moving beyond “technical fixes”. Frontiers in Human Dynamics, 5:1181734. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1181734]
Water, sanitation and hygiene ; Gender equality ; Social inclusion ; Women ; Caste systems ; Ethnicity ; Political aspects ; Federalism ; Institutions ; Local government ; Policies ; Governance ; Decision making ; Rural areas / Nepal / Sarlahi / Dailekh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052237)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2023.1181734/pdf?isPublishedV2=False
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052237.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052237.pdf
(1.03 MB) (1.03 MB)
The enactment of a new Constitution in 2015 in Nepal marked a shift to a representative system of federal governance. Earlier in 2002, the country’s Tenth Five Year Plan had committed to a core focus on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in national policies and governance. How do these two strategic shifts in policy align in the case of WASH projects in rural Nepal? Applying a feminist political lens, we review the implementation of WASH initiatives in two rural districts to show that deep-rooted intersectional complexities of caste, class, and gender prevent inclusive WASH outcomes. Our findings show that the policy framing for gender equitable and socially inclusive outcomes have not impacted the WASH sector, where interventions continue as essentially technical interventions. While there has been significant increase in the number of women representatives in local governance structures since 2017, systemic, informal power relationship by caste, ethnicity and gender entrenched across institutional structures and cultures persist and continue to shape unequal gender-power dynamics. This is yet another example that shows that transformative change requires more than just affirmative policies.
13 Shrestha, Gitta; Uprety, Labisha; Khadka, Manohara; Mukherji, Aditi. 2023. Technology for whom? Solar irrigation pumps, women, and smallholders in Nepal. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7:1143546. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1143546]
Gender relations ; Solar powered irrigation systems ; Pumps ; Women's empowerment ; Smallholders ; Women farmers ; Irrigation technology ; Irrigation schemes ; Subsidies ; Livelihoods ; Social inclusion ; Decision making ; Households ; Income / Nepal / Saptari
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052316)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1143546/pdf?isPublishedV2=False
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052316.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052316.pdf
(2.11 MB) (2.11 MB)
Agricultural technologies are often promoted as a medium for women’s economic empowerment, which can transform unequal gender relations in rural agrarian societies. This paper investigates three solar irrigation pump (SIP) schemes implemented by state and non-state actors and examines their impacts on women and marginal farmers. We utilize a theory of change framework intended to evaluate the effectiveness of livelihood interventions and guide the design of gender transformative interventions. Our analysis relies on 63 qualitative interviews, 9 key informant interviews and 4 telephonic interviews with social mobilisers from the Saptari District in Nepal. The findings shed light on the unequal social and gender relations that have skewed the adoption and benefits of SIP technology. Gender and social inequalities persist, with limited adoption and benefit of SIP among women and smallholders. Women’s involvement in strategic decisions related to SIP adoptions, installations and usages is limited. This study underscores the importance of strategic interventions that foster meaningful women’s empowerment and ensure equitable distribution and benefits from SIP technology. Assessing the effectiveness of SIPs in empowering women, it is crucial to consider whether the resulting access, ownership, or decision-making opportunities challenge, reinforce, or reproduce unequal gender and social relations.
14 Khadka, Manohara; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Shakya, Shristi; Mitra, Archisman; Mukherji, Aditi. 2024. Can water, energy, and food policies in support of solar irrigation enable gender transformative changes? Evidence from policy analysis in Bangladesh and Nepal. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 7:1159867. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1159867]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052566)
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1159867/pdf?isPublishedV2=False
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052566.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H052566.pdf
(5.11 MB) (5.11 MB)
Solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) are emerging as a popular technology to address water, energy, and climate change challenges in South Asia while enhancing livelihoods and food security. SIPs are deemed to be a women-friendly renewable energy technology (RET) due to their design, operating system, and safety. While the gender dimensions of natural resources are well documented, the extent to which the water, energy, and food (WEF) policies—including policies to promote SIP technologies in the countries of South Asia—conceptualize and operationalize gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) is not well understood. Therefore, in this study, we reviewed 39 WEF sectoral policies of Bangladesh and Nepal by adopting a gender-transformative analysis approach to rank the policies on a continuum ranging from a scale of 0–3 (denoting gender-unaware, gender-aware, gender-responsive, and gendertransformative). We found that the governments in both countries commit to gender equality and women’s advancement in their WEF sector policies, institutions, and decision-making by ensuring gender and justice principles in their constitutions and national development frameworks. However, these higher-level aspirational principles are not always operationalized in the WEF sector policies. We found that the WEF policies are aware of the need to include GESI and social equity in sectoral programming, yet operational rules for their implementation often fail to challenge structural barriers. Such barriers hinder women and marginalized groups from participating in and benefiting from WEF policies, including the deployment of SIP technologies. This calls for a transformation not only in project implementation but also in the policymaking processes of WEF sectors in the South Asian region.
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