DIALOGUE / DISCUSSION PAPER: WOMEN, WATER, SANITATION AND HOUSING</t= itle>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=3DSection1> <h2>Women’s Major Group Dialogue Paper for CSD-12<o:p></o:p></h2> Women, Water, Sanitatio= n and Human Settlements – On Track or Distracted?<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I. Introduction<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Water, sanitation and human settlements—these CSD-12 themes form an essential part of women’= ;s lives, livelihoods and security. This paper reflects the views of the Women’s Major Group on the CSD-12 themes. It also highlights a gender-specific approach to water, sanitation and human settlements, an approach which is shared by, and is beneficial to, a broad range of stakeho= lders. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Discussi= ons at the global level related to women and water began at the 1977 UN Water Conferen= ce in Mar del Plata, continued at the 1992 International Conference on Water a= nd Environment in Dublin, and were consolidated into concrete actions on women= ’s involvement in water-related decision-making and management in Chapter 18 of Agenda 21. Principle 20 of the Rio Declaration states, “Women have a vital role in environment= al management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential= to achieve sustainable development.” <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> At the 2000 Millennium Summit, 1= 91 governments reaffirmed their commitment to women’s empowerment, agree= ing in the Millennium Declaration to promote gender equality and the empowermen= t of women as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimul= ate development that is truly sustainable. The Millennium Development Goals (MD= Gs) related to poverty, gender equality, and improving access to water and the lives of slum-dwellers, are particularly relevant to CSD-12, setting releva= nt benchmarks and indicators. However, the MDGs will not be achieved without approaching these goals in a holistic manner that puts gender equality and human rights at the centre. To date, none of the national reports on achiev= ing the MDGs has mentioned gender equality or women’s access to natural resou= rces in relation to MDG 7— halving the proportion of people without access= to safe drinking water by 2015 and achieving significant improvement in the li= ves of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Article = 24 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, from the 2002 World Summit on Sustaina= ble Development, underlines that the implementation of MDG 7 should be gender-sensitive. Governments also agreed to: “Mobilize international and domestic financial resources at all leve= ls, transfer technology, promote best practices and support capacity-building f= or water and sanitation infrastructure and services development, ensuring that such infrastructure and services meet the needs of the poor and are gender-sensitive.” The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation also supports the participation of women in decision-making related to water resources management and women’s right to inherit land in Africa.</= span><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Female water professionals and women groups joined forces and succe= eded to put women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming on the internatio= nal water agenda. During the Second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000 women were recognized as a major groups. The 2001 International Conference on Fre= shwater in Bonn stated that men and women should have an equal voice in managing wa= ter resources, and that water management polices should distinguish water users= by gender to allow for equitable access. At the 2003 3rd World Water Forum in Japan, governments agreed to “ensure good govern= ance with a stronger focus on household and neighbourhood community-based approa= ches by addressing equity in sharing benefits, with due regard to pro-poor and gender perspectives in water policies.” The 1994 UN Convention to Combat Desertification commits governments to support capacity-building and women’s full participation to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. The 1996 Habitat II meeting in Istanbul made a commitment to gender equality in human settlements development. In addition, global agreements related to gender equality and women’s empowerment address the management of water resources, including the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the 1994 International Confere= nce on Population and Development in Cairo, and the Convention to Eliminate all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Thus, fo= r more than 25 years global UN conferences have repeatedly recognized that effecti= ve sustainable water resources management depends on the involvement of women = in decision-making and on mainstreaming gender at all levels. CSD-12 will cons= ider whether governments and other institutions have taken action that reflects = the gender dimensions of water, sanitation and human settlements. Some countrie= s, such as South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Chile and Brazi= l, have taken steps to integrate a gender perspective into their water managem= ent policies. Some global processes are supportive, while others seem to be obstacles to achieving global benchmarks and objectives. The key question remains: Is implementation of the global commitments related to poverty, wa= ter, sanitation, human settlements and gender on track, off track, or distracted= ? <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> This pap= er identifies new developments and challenges from a gender perspective. It highlights opportunities and obstacles in regard to both water and sanitation and human settlements, and concludes with a set of recommendations for this year’s CSD and the sessions in years ahead. The document is illustrat= ed by case studies, reflecting the endurance, knowledge and strength of women = in different regions of the world in managing water, sanitation and human settlements in a sustainable manner.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> II. Lessons Learned on Water and Sanitation<o:p>= </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Water is essential for all forms of life and access to clean water is a human rig= ht. The right to water and housing is essential for achieving other internation= al development commitments in critical areas such as gender equality, sustaina= ble development and poverty eradication.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women constitute more than 50% of the world population. In many communities, women’s survival and that of their households, depends on access to a= nd control of natural resources, especially water. However, limited access to = and control of clean water is intensifying the cycle of poverty, gender inequalities, and water-borne diseases. And there are no indications that a major global shift is taking place, which will transform and reverse the cy= cle.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women and men have distinct responsibilities and different stakes in using and managing water and water systems. As economic providers, caregivers, and household managers, women ensure that their families have water for daily lives. In most societies, wom= en and girls collect every litre of water for cooking, bathing, cleaning, maintain= ing health and hygiene, raising small livestock and growing food. All these tas= ks are water-intensive. Women also use water for economic activities, building= and repair work, crops and food processing. Generally, men are in need of water= for irrigation and maintaining larger livestock, and for industries. Sometimes women’s needs are in direct conflict with those of men. And men are usually less concerned with how and where the water women use is obtained, = and at what price as long as they do not share in the costs. <o:p></o:p>= <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women carry out 80% of water-related work throughout the world. They are often the managers of community water supply, have extensive knowledge and experience, and have learned to protect water resources in order to preserve them for future generations. And women are seldom consulted and too often ignored wh= en policies and plans are being drafted and projects implemented. In every reg= ion of the world, women’s organizations and networks have played a key ro= le in managing water, thus contributing to poverty eradication and sustainable development. However, many of these organizations often lack resources and capacity to fully implement their programmes and projects and broaden their efforts. <o:p></o:p></= p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !s= upportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Every day rural women and children, particularly girls, walk long distances over dangerous terrain to bring water and fuel to their families. Women often spend four to five hours per = day carrying heavy containers and suffer acute physical problems—a burden that is made worse in drought-prone or polluted areas. For example, in Rajasthan, India, it is not unu= sual for women to walk 6 kilometres to bring water for the home. <= /span>In some mountainous regions of East= Africa, women spend up to 27 percent of their caloric intake in collecting water.</= span><o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Travelling long distances from home in search of water sources increases the labour bu= rden for women and limits time for other activities, including income-generating work and education. If water and fuel sources are scarce, time for girls to attend school and study is also limited. Girls may even be forced to drop o= ut of school to assist in collecting water or as a result of limited facilities and water supplies for sanitation and personal hygiene. Also, trekking distances to access water sources or facilities places women and girls in danger of being victims of physical violence. In India, caste-based discriminati= on limits access to safe and adjacent water sources to members of the upper ca= ste, causing social tensions and violence.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>In urban areas women and girls wait hours in line for intermittent water suppl= ies. This also means that many have no time for other pursuits, such as educatio= n, income generation, and cultural and political activities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Nepal, about 200 families in villages in Rama= chaap district have struggled with acute water shortages for the past few years. = They have just one source for drinking: a natural spring. Families sometimes hav= e to wait for hours to collect a single bucket of water. “Night and day, t= he spring is ever occupied by containers and people,” says Jhuma Shersth= a, a local woman standing in the queue. “We rely on the spring just for drinking water. For washing, bathing and providing water to our animals, we= go to the faraway Khahare stream.” Source: Kathmandu Post, 2003 (in U= NEP, 2004) <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>As water is fundamental to life, water management must be democratic and transparent, and represent the needs of the people—none more important than women. However, only a few women are in positions of power when it com= es to decision-making on water resources. Although the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) include a gender perspective, women conti= nue to be ignored in polices, projects and institutions dealing with water resources management. Women’s participation, especially that of poor women and indigenous women, in water-related decision-making is limited, and water governance does not take into account gender-differentiated responsibilities and needs related to water. Current methods of managing resources are gender-blind and reinforce stereotypical roles and social nor= ms, directing technical and financial control to the male community members. Th= ere is also a need to involve men in safe water provisions, in order to change these stereotypes. Moreover, including a gender perspective in water resour= ce management has been proven to be cost-effective. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> A study from Chile in 2000 showed that the governmental institutions working on water resources have a very low percen= tage of women at the devisor and planning levels. This percentage rises just a little at the technical and professional levels. The number of women that annually get the university hydraulics civil engineer degree is very limite= d. Over the past two years the Dirección General de Aguas, the governme= ntal regulatory agency concerned with water resource management, has started to develop educational programs about resources management for school children, headed by a team of women (civil engineers and geographers). In this area it seems that the gender participation and commitment is very high and strong, promoting a new water culture, based on sharing and conflict resolution. <i= >Source: Source: María Angélica Alegria, 2002. <a style=3D'mso-footnot= e-id: ftn1' href=3D"#_ftn1" name=3D"_ftnref1" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[1]<![endif]></a><o:p></o:p></sp= an> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Caste- and class-based discrimination and resultant violence is seen in large part= s of India and elsewhere in the world. Access to adjacent and safe water sources= is limited to members of the upper caste or class and other women have to trav= el long distances for the same. These situations result in social tension and = violence. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Low-income women facing time constraints are sometimes forced to accept lower quality water—often ground water that is not clean enough for consumption. Polluted and contaminated water directly threatens family health and wellne= ss, whereas the awareness level of women regarding contamination of water is of= ten poor. In Bangladesh, well wat= er is poisoned by arsenic; in India, fluoride content= is causing the debilitating disease Fluorosis; and in areas where privatization has increased the cost of water, women cannot afford clean wa= ter and must rely on disease-ridden sources. As women are the primary water managers at the local level, they are more likely to be exposed to water-bo= rne diseases, especially when their awareness level regarding contaminated wate= r is poor. Just as 90% of all illnesses are transmitted by contaminated water, 7= 0% of the world’s blind are women who have been infected by the water-bo= rne disease trachoma, either through direct contact with infected water or thro= ugh their children. Unfortunately, the majority of resources are allocated towa= rd curing water-related illnesses, instead of preventative measures such as adequate sanitation and hygiene education. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women are also the primary caretakers for family members who are ill, and the imp= act of HIV/AIDS has been particularly devastating in this regard. In addition to higher numbers of women being infected, the HIV/AIDS epidemic puts an extra work burden on women’s shoulders, including care for infected family members, time taken away from income-generating activities and education, a= nd the need for increased amounts of water. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Saline water ingression and resultant brackishness of drinking water tube wells is= a major concern in many coastal zones, such as coastal India. This forces the local communities to go for unsafe drinking water in shallow tube wells, wh= ich are often contaminated. <o:p></o:p> <o:= p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women face a disproportionate amount of economic and social losses from floods, d= am construction and water pollution. In Bangladesh, women’s normal responsibilities increase during the flood season. The rising number of female-headed households is particularly important because of economic and social marginalisation, as well as limited access to flood relief and rehabilitation. Many of these women resort to a pattern of emergency borrow= ing or selling of assets, such as jewelry and utensils. Women tend to be at gre= ater risk than men of long-term economic loss, because of the societal devaluati= on of their assets. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> The International Fund for Agric= ultural Development has highlighted the fact that women head an increasing number of rural households—already one out of four—in the developing worl= d. In Sub Saharan Africa this is as high as one household in three. These women are put in the position of farming the land and providing for their families alone, without the benefit of legal rights to land and water. Source: Alegria 2004; GWA, 2003 <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn2' href=3D"#_ftn2" name=3D"_ftnref2" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]><span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-famil= y:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho";mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-lan= guage: JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>[2]<![endif]></= a> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>When water becomes scarce, one of the coping strategies employed by women is buy= ing water from vendors. This does= not guarantee quality, and high prices contribute to a class division in affordability of such resources. This puts an extra stress on low-income wo= men. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> On the outskirts of Cairo, which is not serviced= by the public system, the government allows private distribution of water. Ven= dors sell water at prices five to ten times higher than the government utilities charge, and it is delivered in unhygienic tankers. Source: Samia Galal S= aad, Alexandria University<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>The environmental and human implications of water scarcity have not received en= ough attention. As a result, wetlands, floodplains, and coastal ecosystems are in danger of irreversible degradation, and this reality comes with gender-rela= ted consequences. It is poor families who draw most heavily on ‘common property’ resources, like forests, rangelands, water bodies and land-locked fishing sources. Women suffer disproportionately when such resources are degraded. Conservation of water ecosystems is critical for the improvement of women’s access to clean water, and for the survival of poor families and communities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>In many cases access to water is linked to land rights – which are embed= ded in either national law and/or customary and religious laws, and in many par= ts of the world women’s right to own or inherit land is prohibited. </sp= an>While women perform the majority of the world’s agricultural work, they often do not have secure land tenure. Extremely complicated land records= and ownership related procedures are a major deterrent. If women do have access= to land, the plot is often poor quality soil or does not provide sufficient ac= cess to irrigation. Because land is used as collateral to obtain credit, many women are barred from financial independence. Although the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has been ratified by a large majority of the world’s governments, broader implementation of the Convention with regard to natural resources is needed. Tanzania and Nepal h= ave successfully used CEDAW to expand constitutional guarantees of equality to access land and other natural resources.&n= bsp; These approaches could be adopted in other countries.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Carmen Deere and Magdalena Leon conducted a stud= y in 1998 on the gender impacts of land and water rights from the land reforms of 1960s and 1970s to the neo-liberal counter reforms of the 1990s in nine countries of Latin America. The study showed that despite the salutary effe= ct of the reforms on land redistribution and rural poverty, they served to accentuate women’s economic dependency and marginalisation. The requirements that beneficiaries be heads of households (generally male), and permanent agricultural workers (again mostly male), exclude most women from land ownership. As water in Latin America is mostly tied to land ownership = or legally recognized community ownership, women thereby lost any legal claim to water= and their stake in its management. Source: Alegria/GWA, 2004<o:p></o:p><= /span> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Water scarcity is increasingly becoming a trigger for military conflict, notably = in the Middle East and Mexican Valley.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn3' href= =3D"#_ftn3" name=3D"_ftnref3" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[3]<![endif]= ></a> The growing number of conflicts and wars leads to increasing numbers of displaced people and refugees, the majority of who are women and children. = The loss of land and water sources causes even more insecurity among refugees, = and puts an extra burden on women. Securing access to land and safe water are m= ajor challenges for the resettlement of women refugees and their families. <o:p>= </o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Few development issues demonstrate the gender divide in human society more graphically than sanitation. As the traditional water managers and custodia= ns of family health, women shoulder a huge burden in coping with the lack of b= asic sanitation services. The lack of sanitation facilities has significantly different impacts on women and men. In rural areas, due to deforestation and the expansion of cultivation, women must wake up even earlier in the mornin= g to attend to their needs. Similar societal pressures for privacy do not put the same onus on men. Because of the absence of clean and private sanitation facilities in schools, ten percent of school-age girls in Africa do not att= end school during menstruation. There is also a violence dimension to this: in = both urban and rural areas, women and girls have been raped and assaulted when attempting to go out to defecate in the dark in insecure places far from th= eir homes. The lack of easy access to sanitation facilities is also an important cause for the high prevalence of urinary tract infections in women and girl= s. Proper sanitation facilities are a top priority for women and girls. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>In every corner of the globe, women have proved to be strong advocates for the= ir own concerns regarding water. Human rights advocates recognize access to and control of water as a critical component of gender equality and women’= ;s empowerment, as well as environmental security and poverty eradication. Wom= en have protested the lack of water services from the Ukraine to Bolivia to the United States. They have organized for water conservation, from the Chipko movement in the North Indian Himalaya to the Narmada Bachao Andolan movemen= t in India protesting the Narmada dam, and many others in Indonesia, Burkina Fas= o, and Kenya. New international networks like the Gender and Water Alliance have been formed to collect and exchange information and strengthen technical capacity on gender, water and sanitation. The cases in this paper are an illustration of some of those efforts. </s= pan><o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> III. Lessons Learned on Human Settlements<o:p></= o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Human settlements are the physical spaces where women, their families and their c= ommunities live and work. Women’s aspirations for themselves and the lives of th= eir children, families, neighbourhoods and communities are articulated in terms= of changes they would like to see in their settlements—whether these cha= nges are in the form of secure housing, food security, healthcare facilities, schools, safe transport, childcare, clean water supply or sanitation. Women’s restricted mobility and gender roles also mean that they need= to find work close to their homes.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>Most wome= n do not own the homes they live in or the lands they work on. Inheritance and prope= rty rights (both legal and customary) work in favour of men. This leaves women vulnerable in times of conflict, and it means that they have little say in decisions to invest in or divest from household assets. On the other hand w= hen women have access and control over economic assets it provides them leverag= e in household and community decision-making processes. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Swayam Shikshan Prayog= in India has facilitated the formation of over 1000 women’s savings and credit groups who have mobilized their own savings to provide loans for one another. These groups are organized into federations that have the ability = to leverage bulk loans from banks. In addition to the benefits of having access and control over a financial resource base, savings and credit groups are a= lso the unit through which women start organizing to address development issues= in their settlements such as such as access to electricity, water supply, healthcare, schools, etc. </s= pan>Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>WomenR= 17;s safety in settlements is a serious concern for women. The possibility of violence and crime, particularly in times of ethnic tension and conflict severely constrain women’s mobility. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Montreal the Women’s Urban Safety Action Committee (CAFSU), a partnership comprising grassroots women, city planners and local authorities and researchers, came together to creat= e a women-friendly transport system where women feel safe using public transpor= t at night. Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>In additi= on women with children need access to child-friendly spaces for education, childcare= and recreation. Mother Centres in Germany, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Slovenia = are where grassroots women have located or built spaces in which women with families can meet and address questions of family policy. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>The roles= that society ascribes to men and women mean that men and women use their living = and working environments in very different ways—yet women and their needs= are frequently excluded from decision making processes at community, local government and national government levels. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <h1 style=3D'margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l21 level1 lfo28; tab-stops:list .5in'><![if !supportLists]>Ø = <![endif]>The= HIV AIDS pandemic has had devastating effects on women living in poverty. Limit= ed access and control of economic assets impede women’s ability to negot= iate safe sexual practices, and can result in the pursuit of sex work for surviv= al or remaining in sexually risky or violent relationships<a style=3D'mso-foot= note-id: ftn4' href=3D"#_ftn4" name=3D"_ftnref4" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]><span style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-= size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Rom= an"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'= >[4]<![endif]></a>. While the policy discussions focus= on preventive strategies or access to medical treatment, little attention has = been paid to ways in which women are coping with the pandemic. Because women are= the primary caregivers in Africa, this places huge burdens on women. Inequitable inheritance practices coupled with land grabbing create a situation in which women headed households are all the more vulnerable and food insecure.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn5' href=3D"#_ftn5" name=3D"_ftnref5" title=3D""= ><![if !supportFootnotes]><span style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-= size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Rom= an"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'= >[5]<![endif]></a><o:p></o:p></h1> <= o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Groots Kenya is a network of gra= ssroots women’s organizations in Kenya where women have organized community safety nets to provide home-based care to people living with HIV/AIDS, to t= ake care of orphans and elderly, to assist community members access medical cen= tres and to provide food to the sick and their families. In the absence of any institutional support for such work, women have been mobilizing their own meagre resources to support these efforts. Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>Women als= o bear the brunt of destruction wrought by disasters. Usually, women are the ones = who play a central role in the processes of recovery of their communities and t= he reconstruction of their settlements. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>In post-d= isaster experiences in India and Turkey, it is evident that investing in women̵= 7;s leadership in times of crises has accelerated community reconstruction and recovery processes and reconfigured the power relationships among women, communities and government. This transformation has had a long-term impact = in strengthening women’s participation in development processes.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn6' href=3D"#_ftn6" name=3D"_ftnref6" title=3D""= ><![if !supportFootnotes]><span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;m= so-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>[6= ]<![endif]></a><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>For women= to most effectively participate in decision-making processes they need to be presen= t in larger numbers (at least 30%)<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn7' href=3D"#_ft= n7" name=3D"_ftnref7" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]><span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;m= so-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>[7= ]<![endif]></a> and they require information and the support of organized women’s gro= ups to identify and articulate gender interests to build confidence so that they are effective and accountable in public positions. This is particularly critical for increasing poor women’s political participation. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Uganda the Women= 217;s Caucus worked to keep women members of the National Parliament informed of women’s priorities and how they could intervene in official debates. Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in Uganda has also been involved in training women on doing gender analysis of budgets allocated at local and national levels. Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p></= p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> The esse= ntial role that urban women play in urban development and social organization needs constant attention. Important drivers are international organisations such = as Groots, the international network of Grassroots Organisations Operating Together in Sisterhood, supporting communities in urban and rural settings.= The Huairou Commission advocates for a gender perspective at international leve= ls, for example during global Habitat meetings. Engendering Local Agenda 21 processes, such as promoted by the NGO REDEH in Brazil, is also a powerful strategy to bring a gender perspective into urban development. <s= pan lang=3DFR style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-ansi-language:FR'>Sources: <= /i><a href=3D"http://www.groots.org/">= www.groots.org</a></= i>; <= span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt'><a href=3D"http://www.huairou.org/"= >www.huairou.org</a><= /i> <o:p></o:p></spa= n> <o:p></o:p> <h5>Participants at the Grassroots Women’s International Academy conv= ened by Groots International and the Huairou Commission during Istanbul+5 (June 2001) made the following recommendations:</h5> Governments should support grassroots women’s initiatives in th= ree ways:<o:p></o:p> <![if !supportLists]>(1) <![endif]>Resources, for grassroots women’s collectives for their learning processes and learning exchanges.<o:p></o:p>= <![if !supportLists]>(2) <![endif]>Visibility and opportunities for womenR= 17;s initiatives to engage with mainstream institutions.<o:p></o:p> <![if !supportLists]>(3) <![endif]>Policy support that encourages grassroots women’s participation in shaping policies that impact their well-bein= g. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= <o:p> </o:p>= IV. Trends and Developments: Challenges ahead<o:= p></o:p> &nb= sp; <o:p></o:p> This section describes major tre= nds and developments in the field of gender, water, sanitation and human settlement= s. In the context of new perspectives and commitments in the field of sustaina= ble and equitable development, globalisation, environmental change and growing insecurity, the following trends have a major impact on women’s relat= ionship to water, sanitation and human settlements. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <h3>Water as a human= right<o:p></o:p></h3> The righ= t to water is clearly established under international human rights law: all people have the right of access to the amount of water required to sustain life and ful= fil basic needs.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn8' href=3D"#_ftn8" name=3D"_ftnr= ef8" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[8]<![endif]></a> In 2002 the Committee = on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva, recognized water as human right: “The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life = in human dignity…the right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, saf= e, acceptable, physically accessible water for personal and domestic uses.R= 21; (General Comment no.15) In the same comment the commission mentions that pe= ople may not “be deprived of its means of subsistence.”<o:p></o:p></= span> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> The right to water has been iden= tified as a component of the right to housing, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and the right to food under the International Covenant = on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the world’s most impor= tant social and economic rights treaty.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn9' href=3D= "#_ftn9" name=3D"_ftnref9" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[9]<![endif]= ></a> Human rights standards are applicable to governments (and other actors) no matter how they arrange water services. These standards include the require= ment that drinking water be available and accessible without discrimination. </s= pan> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> In South= Africa a minimum amount of water is made available free of charge to all citizens. T= he relatively affluent tax income base of the country facilitates this measure. This shows also that there is a need for progressive water tariffs, and subsidies for connection fees etc. in order to guarantee access to a minimum amount of affordable water, particularly for the poor.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Presentl= y there is mainly a competition-based approach to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), where ministers and more powerful stakeholders lobby for water righ= ts. The competitive approach tends to focus on issues of legal water rights, of= ten associated with land rights. With most land owned by men, water rights accordingly are awarded to men and not to women. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Water access for the people of Zaragosa Island i= n the Philippines, depends on the ebb of the tide. At high tide, a group of mostly women and children paddle their small boats to a single communal faucet on = the mainland provided by the municipal government. They collect water in plastic containers, bathe and do laundry. Many spend two hours per day paddling back and forth, on top of considerable time waiting for their turn at the tap. T= here are communal faucets on the island, but they do not operate well. Scenes li= ke this repeat themselves across the Philippines. That is why the recently concluded National Rural Women’s Congress, attended by 280 participan= ts from rural women’s organizations, called for increased access to water services as a human right. It asked the government to prioritise public spe= nding on basic social services, over national debt appropriation, which consumes = 48 percent of the national budget. Source: Agnes Balota, Tambuyog Developme= nt Center = <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Priva= tisation of water resources The effects of globalisation are increasingly uneven, and have a clear gender dimension. Privatisation is one aspect of the world’s water crisis that is having a deeply negative impact on the livelihoods of women. Increasingly, water resources managemen= t in countries across the globe is being determined by policies of the internati= onal financial and trade institutions—the World Bank, International Moneta= ry Fund (IMF), and World Trade Organization (WTO). Privatisation has been instigated through structural adjustment programmes, debt loan conditions, poverty reduction strategies, international development assistance, and ‘trade-related’ policies under regional trade agreements such as the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of t= he Americas (FTAA) negotiations. </span= > <o:p> </o:p> Providing basic human services is increasingly difficult for countries crippled by debt and restricted by structural adjustment policies that prioritise loan repayment over social spending. As governments relinquish control of domestic water systems under pressure from international institutions and regional banks and trade agreements, transnational corporations (TNCs) are gaining unprecedented acc= ess to national and local water supplies. <o:p> </o:p> The global trend towards privati= sation of what have traditionally been public services has reduced the democratic involvement of both citizens and governments in water management decisions.= <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn10' href=3D"#_ftn10" name=3D"_ftnref10" title= =3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[10]<![endif= ]></a> Governments tend to lose internal skills and expertise, while the concentra= tion of power in the hands of a single corporation and the inability of governme= nts to reclaim management of water services allow corporations to impose their interests on governments. As water becomes profit-driven, water resources management lacks commitment to expanded access to low-income consumers, resulting in service cut-offs, weak regularly oversight, lack of accountabi= lity to local consumer needs, and inequitable quality of services based on the ability to pay (willingness-to-pay is something else as the ability-to-pay, c.q. affordability). <o:p> </o:p> The privatisation of water, and = indeed all other natural resources, is increasingly infringing on people’s rights and livelihoods around the world, most severely on poor women and girls. Wa= ter privatisation perpetuates gender inequalities by relying on traditional gen= der roles that have made women and girls responsible for and the main suppliers= of water to their families and households. Women are disproportionately experiencing the burdens of privatisation policies in the form of astronomi= cal price hikes, water cut-offs, deteriorating water quality, and health and sanitation hazards. Overall the choices that poor women must make are not t= aken into account. <o:p> </o:p> Women have been central in the s= truggle against the sale of public water services to transnational corporations, e.= g. in Cochabamba (Bolivia), Atlanta (USA) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) (see al= so the case below). Recognizing the human right to water, they claim that governments should keep their responsibility for public services and common resources, guaranteeing safe access to clean and affordable water resources, particularly for the poor and women. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In the region of Maldon= ado in Uruguay, water service was not a problem until it was privatised in a proce= ss that faced popular resistance, lacked any formal public consultation, and followed a policy shaped by agreements with international financial institutions. In the poorer areas, neighbourhood organizations fought to de= fend community standpipes. The standpipes were installed in different zones arou= nd the country by the public water and sanitation ministry to assure that pota= ble water was available in areas that lacked piped services to households. When= the private companies stepped in, their first move was to eliminate the standpi= pes, a strategy designed to make people pay high fees for a household connection. Citizens unable to pay would lose water access.<o:p></o:p> The neighbourhood comm= ission of the San Antonio district, run primarily by women, successfully lobbied l= ocal authorities to maintain the community tap. Now the neighbourhood standpipe = not only supplies water to families there, but also to neighbours from other districts where standpipes have been removed or household water connections= cut off due to the inability to pay the high water rates. A lack of resources, however, means the service quality has been very low. Source: Juan Berha= u, FFOSE, and Carlos Santos, REDES<o:p></o:p> </div> <h3><o:p> </o:p></h3> <h3>Global environme= ntal change, including climate change<o:p></o:p></h3> Women are extremely vulnerable to environmental change, including climate change. Increasingly the availability of water resources is fluctuating and becoming unpredictable—too much (flooding) or a lack of water (droughts) in certain periods. Extreme weather conditions increase the burden of water collection, and threaten women’s livelihoods and lives. The expected changes in biodiversity, will affect women disproportionately because of th= eir roles in agricultural production and resources collection and management. Moreover women, because of their disadvantaged starting position and prevai= ling gender disparities, need more time to rebuild and restore their livelihoods. <o:p></o:p= > <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> There ar= e many casualties among women in disasters. Particularly if women do not receive timely warnings or other information about hazards and risks or if their mobility is restricted or otherwise affected due to cultural and social constraints. Case studies indicate that women are very often highly affecte= d by hazardous conditions and resulting disasters. Often they face increased fam= ily and community work, loss of working space and tools, intensified care-giving responsibilities, and heightened risk of domestic and sexual violence. Women’s work expands greatly during disasters (of whatever size), and their access to resources—particularly land and water—for survi= val and recovery is constrained.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Women wh= o regularly cope with all kinds of ‘daily’ disasters develop local strategi= es for reducing risk and responding to natural disasters. They play an importa= nt role in disaster prevention, preparedness and response in communities and households, but are often marginalized by agencies and organizations. It is often the case that disaster recovery efforts do not recognize women’s capabilities, and can in fact reinforce or exacerbate existing gender and o= ther social inequalities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> A gender= approach is still lacking in climate change debates and research. The lessons learned from disaster prevention and mitigation, show however, that a gender perspective is imperative in understanding and coping with the consequences= of environmental change in general, and climate change (and related changes in water cycles) in particular. &n= bsp; <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Egypt, an innovative partnership has been cre= ated in Alexandria between women’s health and environmental management and will soon integrate emergency management, leading to the training of traine= rs. Girls are trained as ‘environmental promoters’, and thus empowe= red in the unconventional area of environmental health.<o:p></o:p> In= Nepal, the Participatory Disaster Management Programme begins by convening separate gender groups to discuss the different needs and priorities of women and me= n, before a joint executive committee meets to refine and endorse their input.= In many groups, women are active in greater numbers than men and thus women’s participation in risk reduction has increased. Furthermore, w= omen are leading mixed-sex groups, thus demonstrating their empowerment through = the programme. <o:p></o:p> <h4>Source: UN-DAW, = ISDR Expert Group Meeting on Environmental Management and Mitigation of Natural Disasters: a gender perspective, 6-9 November 2001, Ankara.<o:p></o:p></spa= n></h4> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Women= as Agents of Change<o:p></o:p> Women th= roughout the world are mobilizing and demanding that their voices be heard. Their actions from the local village to the global policy-making arenas are a dri= ving force for change and transformation. Women are advocating at the local, national and global levels to demand a human rights approach to water and o= ther natural resources that are necessary for human survival.<o:p></o:p><= /p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> From the= 1975 UN International Year of Women, through the Decade on Women (1976-1985) and the global conferences and summits of the 1990s, women participated actively to shape economic, social, political and sustainable development, by getting t= he facts, strategizing, demanding accountability, lobbying, networking and building coalitions. Many are active leaders in the struggle for safe, affordable and accessible drinking water.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> At the S= econd World Water Forum in the Hague in 2000 the efforts made by women groups in joining forces in the water-gender sustainability lobby resulted in the foundation of the Gender and Water Alliance (<a href=3D"http://www.genderandwateralliance.org/">www.genderandwateralliance.= org</a>). The Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO) is also active in promoting a gender equality perspective in policies relating to access to water.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Internat= ional alliances between women, environmentalists, human rights activists and professionals in the water and sanitation sector are yielding quantifiable results for sustainable management of water resources. Global networks of organizations working in partnership to bring the water-gender-poverty-sustainable development nexus into practice, have built global synergy for the inclusion of gender as a cross-cutting issue in IWRM. The following are examples of the efforts of women’s organizations in this area.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In 1991, following the Chernobyl nuclear disaste= r, a proactive group of young mothers established MAMA-86 as a Kiev city public organization. Today, MAMA-86 has blossomed into a national environmental NGO network of 17 organizations from various regions of Ukraine, and is an acti= ve partner in Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF). <o:p></o:p></= p> In Ukraine the water situation is critical. MAMA= -86 kicked off its Drinking Water in Ukraine campaign in 1997, together with 11 organizations from its network. An early initiative addressed the lack of information disclosure in the country by carrying out regular information gathering and independent research on drinking water quality and public opi= nion on the issue. Since 2001, MAMA-86 has been implementing a programme of technical solutions for improving access to safe drinking water in urban and rural areas. A broad public information and education campaign was also launched, disseminating information through all available channels, includi= ng radio and TV. The main objectives of the MAMA-86 water campaign are to prot= ect the drinking water sources in the country through new approaches such as eco-sanitation and organic agriculture, public, lobbying and the developmen= t of pilot projects run by local communities. Source: Anna Tsvetkova, Mama-86= <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Women follow a strict form of purdah in Hoto vil= lage, Baluchistan in Pakistan. In 1994, a Participatory Action Research team went= to Hoto to help improve its water management problems. For a year, the men wou= ld not give permission to the team to meet the women. Eventually, the women we= re able to participate in a joint meeting to develop strategies to solve the drinking water problem. The men suggested extending the distribution pipes = of an old government water supply scheme to all the households in the unserved area. The women put up a counter-proposal to build a new water tank on unus= ed land, which would provide water to the non-functioning public standpipes. T= he community adopted the women’s solution, which was far more cost-effec= tive. <o:p></o:p> This marked a major change in the village. Now t= he women have become active participants in decision-making, and significant changes have been made in their lives, such as hygiene education. Most significant has been the demand for education for their daughters: in 1998 a new girls school was opened in Hoto. Traditional leaders have been impresse= d by the results of the project. The same approach is taken to other villages now. Source: Alegria/GWA, = 2004<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In 1995, the Nhouonda’s community water management system in Cameroon was close to breaking down. The male-dominated village management committee was not functioning and the village women refu= sed to pay their monthly contributions. An external team of experts that came to assist the community encouraged the women of the village to participate in = the problem-solving.<o:p></o:p> As a result, new pipes were bought, old, leaky o= nes were replaced, and broken taps were repaired. Some people were elected to collect monthly contributions for maintenance. All the women living around a standpipe organised to clean it regularly. At a later meeting, when the men insinuated that they would not cooperate with some of the decisions taken by the women, the women openly said that they had ways to sanction the men: th= ey would refuse give them food. A young man expressed fear of women knowing too much, which could lead to divorces in the village. A woman stood up and challenged him, saying there had been divorces before. This led to a major debate betw= een women and men on community based issues.&n= bsp; A youth association is now also taking more assertive action in the community’s water management. Source: Alegria/GWA, 2004<o:p></o:p>= </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> The Canaveralejo River, which supplies water to the 3,800 inhabitants of the to= wn of La Serena in Colombia, was highly contaminated. In 1995 the women of the community struggled to secure leadership positions in the Community Action Board. Eventually, supported by some dedicated men, they succeeded. “= At the beginning it was tough,” recalls resident Fabiola Gomez. “A= ll organisations were run by men, and when women wanted to participate we had = to impose ourselves by force. It was a hard task, but we let them see that we = were also able enough, and we did better than men.” Once the women were in leadership positions a treatment plant was finally constructed. Since then there have been many improvements. “For instance, diarrhoea and other children’s skin diseases have been reduced,” said resident Dona Fabiola. When cholera broke out in the Cali, La Serena was spared. <o:p></o= :p> The women went on to play prominent roles in community development. Collective participation led to improvements in the power supply, paving of the street= s, collecting of refuse, construction of a school and a health centre. Sour= ce: Alegria/GWA, 2004<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Since the Second World Water Forum in 2000 at The Hague, Women in Europe for a Co= mmon Future (WECF), the Netherlands Council of Women and a growing number of national and international partners have come together to work on water, sustainable development and gender. In partnership they have formed the Wom= en for Water Initiative, which focuses on the full and equal participation of women in integrated water management. The Women for Water Initiative has now emerged as a full-fledged partnership of existing local women’s groups and carriers of community development. The initiative stimulates women to a= ct locally and to join forces globally. <o:p></o:p> Recent activities include gathering and dissemin= ating information, brokering, up-scaling of successful activities, joint project development by local partners, the development of indicators for success and failure, and the promotion of Gender-Responsive Budgeting in the water and sanitation sector. A toolkit has been developed that includes good practice= s of partnerships and twinning between women’s groups in the Netherlands a= nd their partners in developing countries. In years to come, this approach is envisaged to result in the replication and up-scaling of other local partnerships. Source: Alice Bouman-Dentener, WECF, 2004 <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> V. Recommendations<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> (a) H= uman Rights approach:<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Access to water is a basic human right that is essential for achieving gender equality, sustainable development and poverty alleviat= ion.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Governments are ultimately responsible for the provisio= n of basic human needs, including adequate water and sanitation to women and the= ir families.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Ratif= y the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), remove reservations and ensure its implementation to the fullest. <o:p></o:= p> <o:p>= </o:p> Recog= nize the polluting of water and environmental resources in war and conflict situatio= ns as a crime against humanity.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> (b) W= omen’s access to and control of water and land:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Ensure women’s access to and ownership of = land. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Recognize that women’s access to water is directly related to access to land and eliminate constitutional and legal barriers that bar women from owning or inheriting land.<o:p></o:p></= i> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Local governments should support the protection of water resources from pollution and make available appropriate affordable, locally= -owned technologies, which support community efforts, particularly for women.</spa= n><o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Promote effective decentralization by transferring responsibilities and resources from the central government to the local government as service delivery and manageme= nt is the responsibility of local governments. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= Central governments shou= ld focus on creating an enabling environment through regulations and tariffs favoring pro-poor and equitable service delivery.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= <h6>© Women’s Access to Sanitation<o:p></o:p></= span></h6> A focus on gender is of particular importance with regard to sanita= tion facilities, as the availability of water and sanitary facilities in schools= can enable girls to get an education, and the location of water points and latr= ines close to the home can reduce violence against women. <o:p></o:p>= The success and effective use of sanitation facilities will depend = on the involvement of both women and men in selecting the location and technol= ogy of such facilities. Women are also crucial in instilling behavioural norms = in young children, including those relating to hygiene. <o:p></o:p> National governments should ensure that sanitation poli= cies are gender sensitive, by enabling the participation of women in the policy framework process. Gender provisions should address both practical and strategic needs. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> (d) G= ender mainstreaming:<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> All water and sanitation institutions should ado= pt and implement a gender equity policy to ensure gender mainstreaming in policies, programmes, budgets and projects. This should also include gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Ensure that national sanitation policies are gen= der sensitive, by enabling the participation of women in the policy framework process. Gender provisions should address both practical and strategic need= s. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Develop and use gender mainstreaming tools at the institutional level, including: sex-disaggregated data, gender analysis, ge= nder balance, gender review process for country reports, gender budget initiativ= es, and gender-sensitive indicators (particularly indicators that cross multiple themes for achievement of the MDGs and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation)= .<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiatives (GRBI) m= ust be used in Integrated Water Resources Management to ensure accountability to commitments on gender equity, poverty eradication, sustainable development = and rights-based governance. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Institute gender training and awareness raising = with all staff within water institutions. Training materials about gender and poverty should be developed and targeted to senior managers and staff in national ministries and water utility boards, to municipal councillors and staff, to engineers, and engineering colleges, to finance and planning departments, as well as personnel in operations and maintenance. <o:p></o:p= > <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Develop a set of global criteria for scaling-up = gender equity and social justice for the poor in the various water sub-sectors. Th= ese should be integrated in the national MDG-reports.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> (e) P= romoting women’s participation and empowerment:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Water management must be democratic and transparent, and represent the needs of the people, especially women. As the primary collect= ors of water throughout the world, women must be recognized as major stakeholde= rs in the decision-making process.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Gover= nments must consult with stakeholders at all levels of decision and policy making,= and establish and strengthen mechanisms to facilitate the participation of all stakeholders, particularly poor women, indigenous peoples, and other disadvantaged groups defined by race, ethnicity, economic status, age, and religion.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Promo= te equal representation of women (50%) in the water sector at all levels.= Activities that promote women's equal participation are critical, due to the historical disadvantage faced by women.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Partnerships between governments, NGOs and donors should be formalized and core funding should be made available for women NGO’s and CBO’s to facilitate their meaningful contribution in = all critical phases of policy and project design and implementation.<o:p></o:p>= <o:p> </o:p> Allocate resources to women’s organization= s for projects related to water, sanitation, and human settlements, including wat= er resources management, capacity development, and training for women in water-related professions.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> (f) P= rivate sector involvement in water resources management:<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Water must be identified primarily as a public good and human right and not simply as a commodity to be traded in the open market. = As a public good, water must be managed for social needs and environmental sustainability rather than for short-term profit.<o:p></o:p> . <o:p></o:p> Recognize the specific impact= that privatisation of goods and services like water has on the livelihoods of wo= men, particularly poor women. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Shifting responsibility from governments to large priva= te corporations is problematic, as profits often supersede human needs and rig= hts. Policies that favour privatization of public services remain largely unaccountable to the people they are supposed to benefit.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p><= /p> Require the private sector to publicly disclose details of their operations related= to water, including information on turnover, profit, number of service delivery sites, average cost, capital expenditure, transaction with parent company a= nd outstanding debts.<o:p></o:p> <h1><o:p> </o:p></h1> (g) Resource mobilization:= <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Funds and other resources should be allocated to civil society organizations, particularly those focused on women, recognizing that women are full partners and not a recipient target group for water and sanitation projects to increase the capacity enhancement and development of poor women and girls, and to women's organizations based on their own priorities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <h1>(f) Human settlements from a gender perspecti= ve:<o:p></o:p></h1> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Solic= it, validate, and remunerate the expertise, priorities and solutions of grassro= ots women’s groups. Resource these organizations to enrich, expand and consolidate their knowledge and skill base.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Use i= nstitutional expertise, resources and contacts to provide back-up support to grassroots initiatives. And enable scaling-up of grassroots practices<o:p></o:p></span= > <o:p>= </o:p> Open = up existing and create new channels for grassroots expertise to enter decision making on all levels of policy making, political administration as well as = in civil society, like media, foundations, banks and education institutions. <= o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Suppo= rt initiatives by local institutions in partnering with grassroots women’= ;s groups as a way of building institutional capacity.<o:p></o:p></= p> <o:p>= </o:p> Ensur= e that resources and information are put in the hands of grassroots women’s groups. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Provi= de resources and an enabling policy environment for grassroots women to field-= test strategies learned through peer learning processes.<o:p></o:p></= p> <o:p>= </o:p> Enable grassroots women to develop their own criteria to evaluate success.<o:p></o= :p> <o:p>= </o:p> . <o:= p></o:p> Acknowledgements<o:p></o:p> This pap= er was developed through a worldwide consultation of women’s organisations, facilitated by the Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO). Specific contributions were provided by the Gender and Water Allian= ce (GWA), Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), the Huairou Commission, Groots-International, Oxfam, the Netherlands Council of Women, and several individuals. <o:p></o:p></span= > </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote-list'><![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1 width=3D"33%"> <![endif]> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn1> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn1' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef1" name=3D"_ftn1" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[1]<![end= if]></a> Alegria, Marie-Angelica, 2002. Water Resources Manag= ement in Chile: Gender Participation. Presented at: Women= 217;s Worlds 2002: the 8th Annual Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, Gendered Worlds: Gains and Challenges, Kampala, Uganda. <o:p></o:p><= /p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn2> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn2' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef2" name=3D"_ftn2" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[2]<![endif]></a> GWA (Gender and Water Alliance). The Gender and Water Development Report 2003: Gender Perspectives on Policies in the Water Sector. http://www.genderandwateralliance.org/reports/GWA%20Annual%20Report.pdf </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn3> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn3' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef3" name=3D"_ftn3" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[3]<![endif]></a> Barl= ow, Maude and Clarke, Tony. Blue Gold: the Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of= the World’s Water. The New Press. New York. 2002. Page 76. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn4> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn4' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef4" name=3D"_ftn4" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[4]<![endif]></a> World Bank (2002) HIV/AIDS and Gender Equality. Gender and Development Briefing Notes, World Bank <a href=3D"http://www.worldbank.org/gender">www.worldbank= .org\gender</a>. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn5> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn5' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef5" name=3D"_ftn5" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[5]<![endif]></a> Bayl= ies, C. (2002) The Impact of Aids on Rural Households in Africa: A shock like any other? Development and Change 33(4): 611-632. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn6> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn6' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef6" name=3D"_ftn6" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[6]<![endif]></a> See = <a href=3D"http://www.sspindia.org/">www.sspindia.org</a> for more details on = Swayam Shikshan Prayog’s experiences in post-disaster reconstruction in Maharashtra and Gujarat. For more on the experiences of Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work in Turkey, see Ackar, S. (2001) Grassroots Women’s Collectives’ Roles in Post-Disaster Effort: Potential f= or Sustainable Partnership and Good Governance. (Lessons learned from the Marm= ara Earthquake in Turkey.) prepared for the UN-DAW, ISDR Expert Group Meeting on “Environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters: a gender perspective” 6-9 November, Ankara, Turkey. </s= pan><o:p></o:p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn7> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn7' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef7" name=3D"_ftn7" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[7]<![endif]></a> Women’s Environment and Development Organization (2001). Getting the Balance Right: Strategies for Change. <a href=3D"http://www.wedo.org/">www.wedo.org</a>. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn8> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn8' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef8" name=3D"_ftn8" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[8]<![endif]></a> UNIF= EM. “Promoting and Protecting Women’s Right to Water in the Context= of Globalization and Feminized Poverty.” New York. Page 7. <a href=3D"http://www.unifem.org/">www.unifem.org</a>.<o:p></o:p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn9> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn9' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef9" name=3D"_ftn9" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[9]<![endif]></a> I= bid. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn10> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn10' href=3D"#_ftn= ref10" name=3D"_ftn10" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[10]<![endif]></a> Yar= on, Gil. “The Final Frontier: A Working Paper on the Big 10 Global Water Corporations and the Privatization and Corporation of the World’s Last Public Resource.” Polaris Institute. 2000. Page 3. <a href=3D"http://www.polarisinstitute.org/">www.polarisinstitute.org</a>. </div> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050 Content-Location: file:///C:/5FA9410E/Womens-2004-Women_files/header.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii"> <meta name=3DProgId content=3DWord.Document> <meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10"> <meta name=3DOriginator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10"> <link id=3DMain-File rel=3DMain-File href=3D"../Womens-2004-Women.htm"> <![if IE]> <base href=3D"file:///C:\5FA9410E\Womens-2004-Women_files\header.htm" id=3D"webarch_temp_base_tag"> <![endif]> </head> <body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple> <div style=3D'mso-element:footer' id=3Def1> <div style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around;mso-element-anchor-= vertical: paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margin;mso-element-left:right; mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'> <table cellspacing=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 hspace=3D0 vspace=3D0 align=3Dright> <tr> <td valign=3Dtop align=3Dleft style=3D'padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in; padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in'> <p class=3DMsoFooter style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around; mso-element-anchor-vertical:paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margi= n; mso-element-left:right;mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'><!-= -[if supportFields]>PAGE <![endif]--><o:p></o:p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <o:p>&= nbsp;</o:p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footer' id=3Df1> <div style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around;mso-element-anchor-= vertical: paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margin;mso-element-left:right; mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'> <table cellspacing=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 hspace=3D0 vspace=3D0 align=3Dright> <tr> <td valign=3Dtop align=3Dleft style=3D'padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in; padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in'> <p class=3DMsoFooter style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around; mso-element-anchor-vertical:paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margi= n; mso-element-left:right;mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'><!-= -[if supportFields]>PAGE <![endif]-->15<o:p></o:p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <o:p>&= nbsp;</o:p> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050 Content-Location: file:///C:/5FA9410E/Womens-2004-Women_files/filelist.xml Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/xml; charset="utf-8" <xml xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"> <o:MainFile HRef=3D"../Womens-2004-Women.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"header.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"filelist.xml"/> </xml> ------=_NextPart

MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050" This document is a Web archive file. If you are seeing this message, this means your browser or editor doesn't support Web archive files. For more information on the Web archive format, go to http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/office/webarchive.htm ------=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050 Content-Location: file:///C:/5FA9410E/Womens-2004-Women.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" DIALOGUE / DISCUSSION PAPER: WOMEN, WATER, SANITATION AND HOUSING</t= itle>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple style=3D'tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=3DSection1> <h2>Women’s Major Group Dialogue Paper for CSD-12<o:p></o:p></h2> Women, Water, Sanitatio= n and Human Settlements – On Track or Distracted?<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I. Introduction<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Water, sanitation and human settlements—these CSD-12 themes form an essential part of women’= ;s lives, livelihoods and security. This paper reflects the views of the Women’s Major Group on the CSD-12 themes. It also highlights a gender-specific approach to water, sanitation and human settlements, an approach which is shared by, and is beneficial to, a broad range of stakeho= lders. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Discussi= ons at the global level related to women and water began at the 1977 UN Water Conferen= ce in Mar del Plata, continued at the 1992 International Conference on Water a= nd Environment in Dublin, and were consolidated into concrete actions on women= ’s involvement in water-related decision-making and management in Chapter 18 of Agenda 21. Principle 20 of the Rio Declaration states, “Women have a vital role in environment= al management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential= to achieve sustainable development.” <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> At the 2000 Millennium Summit, 1= 91 governments reaffirmed their commitment to women’s empowerment, agree= ing in the Millennium Declaration to promote gender equality and the empowermen= t of women as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimul= ate development that is truly sustainable. The Millennium Development Goals (MD= Gs) related to poverty, gender equality, and improving access to water and the lives of slum-dwellers, are particularly relevant to CSD-12, setting releva= nt benchmarks and indicators. However, the MDGs will not be achieved without approaching these goals in a holistic manner that puts gender equality and human rights at the centre. To date, none of the national reports on achiev= ing the MDGs has mentioned gender equality or women’s access to natural resou= rces in relation to MDG 7— halving the proportion of people without access= to safe drinking water by 2015 and achieving significant improvement in the li= ves of at least 100 million slum-dwellers by 2020. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Article = 24 of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, from the 2002 World Summit on Sustaina= ble Development, underlines that the implementation of MDG 7 should be gender-sensitive. Governments also agreed to: “Mobilize international and domestic financial resources at all leve= ls, transfer technology, promote best practices and support capacity-building f= or water and sanitation infrastructure and services development, ensuring that such infrastructure and services meet the needs of the poor and are gender-sensitive.” The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation also supports the participation of women in decision-making related to water resources management and women’s right to inherit land in Africa.</= span><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Female water professionals and women groups joined forces and succe= eded to put women’s empowerment and gender mainstreaming on the internatio= nal water agenda. During the Second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000 women were recognized as a major groups. The 2001 International Conference on Fre= shwater in Bonn stated that men and women should have an equal voice in managing wa= ter resources, and that water management polices should distinguish water users= by gender to allow for equitable access. At the 2003 3rd World Water Forum in Japan, governments agreed to “ensure good govern= ance with a stronger focus on household and neighbourhood community-based approa= ches by addressing equity in sharing benefits, with due regard to pro-poor and gender perspectives in water policies.” The 1994 UN Convention to Combat Desertification commits governments to support capacity-building and women’s full participation to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought. The 1996 Habitat II meeting in Istanbul made a commitment to gender equality in human settlements development. In addition, global agreements related to gender equality and women’s empowerment address the management of water resources, including the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the 1994 International Confere= nce on Population and Development in Cairo, and the Convention to Eliminate all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Thus, fo= r more than 25 years global UN conferences have repeatedly recognized that effecti= ve sustainable water resources management depends on the involvement of women = in decision-making and on mainstreaming gender at all levels. CSD-12 will cons= ider whether governments and other institutions have taken action that reflects = the gender dimensions of water, sanitation and human settlements. Some countrie= s, such as South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Chile and Brazi= l, have taken steps to integrate a gender perspective into their water managem= ent policies. Some global processes are supportive, while others seem to be obstacles to achieving global benchmarks and objectives. The key question remains: Is implementation of the global commitments related to poverty, wa= ter, sanitation, human settlements and gender on track, off track, or distracted= ? <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> This pap= er identifies new developments and challenges from a gender perspective. It highlights opportunities and obstacles in regard to both water and sanitation and human settlements, and concludes with a set of recommendations for this year’s CSD and the sessions in years ahead. The document is illustrat= ed by case studies, reflecting the endurance, knowledge and strength of women = in different regions of the world in managing water, sanitation and human settlements in a sustainable manner.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> II. Lessons Learned on Water and Sanitation<o:p>= </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Water is essential for all forms of life and access to clean water is a human rig= ht. The right to water and housing is essential for achieving other internation= al development commitments in critical areas such as gender equality, sustaina= ble development and poverty eradication.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women constitute more than 50% of the world population. In many communities, women’s survival and that of their households, depends on access to a= nd control of natural resources, especially water. However, limited access to = and control of clean water is intensifying the cycle of poverty, gender inequalities, and water-borne diseases. And there are no indications that a major global shift is taking place, which will transform and reverse the cy= cle.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women and men have distinct responsibilities and different stakes in using and managing water and water systems. As economic providers, caregivers, and household managers, women ensure that their families have water for daily lives. In most societies, wom= en and girls collect every litre of water for cooking, bathing, cleaning, maintain= ing health and hygiene, raising small livestock and growing food. All these tas= ks are water-intensive. Women also use water for economic activities, building= and repair work, crops and food processing. Generally, men are in need of water= for irrigation and maintaining larger livestock, and for industries. Sometimes women’s needs are in direct conflict with those of men. And men are usually less concerned with how and where the water women use is obtained, = and at what price as long as they do not share in the costs. <o:p></o:p>= <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women carry out 80% of water-related work throughout the world. They are often the managers of community water supply, have extensive knowledge and experience, and have learned to protect water resources in order to preserve them for future generations. And women are seldom consulted and too often ignored wh= en policies and plans are being drafted and projects implemented. In every reg= ion of the world, women’s organizations and networks have played a key ro= le in managing water, thus contributing to poverty eradication and sustainable development. However, many of these organizations often lack resources and capacity to fully implement their programmes and projects and broaden their efforts. <o:p></o:p></= p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !s= upportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Every day rural women and children, particularly girls, walk long distances over dangerous terrain to bring water and fuel to their families. Women often spend four to five hours per = day carrying heavy containers and suffer acute physical problems—a burden that is made worse in drought-prone or polluted areas. For example, in Rajasthan, India, it is not unu= sual for women to walk 6 kilometres to bring water for the home. <= /span>In some mountainous regions of East= Africa, women spend up to 27 percent of their caloric intake in collecting water.</= span><o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Travelling long distances from home in search of water sources increases the labour bu= rden for women and limits time for other activities, including income-generating work and education. If water and fuel sources are scarce, time for girls to attend school and study is also limited. Girls may even be forced to drop o= ut of school to assist in collecting water or as a result of limited facilities and water supplies for sanitation and personal hygiene. Also, trekking distances to access water sources or facilities places women and girls in danger of being victims of physical violence. In India, caste-based discriminati= on limits access to safe and adjacent water sources to members of the upper ca= ste, causing social tensions and violence.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>In urban areas women and girls wait hours in line for intermittent water suppl= ies. This also means that many have no time for other pursuits, such as educatio= n, income generation, and cultural and political activities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Nepal, about 200 families in villages in Rama= chaap district have struggled with acute water shortages for the past few years. = They have just one source for drinking: a natural spring. Families sometimes hav= e to wait for hours to collect a single bucket of water. “Night and day, t= he spring is ever occupied by containers and people,” says Jhuma Shersth= a, a local woman standing in the queue. “We rely on the spring just for drinking water. For washing, bathing and providing water to our animals, we= go to the faraway Khahare stream.” Source: Kathmandu Post, 2003 (in U= NEP, 2004) <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>As water is fundamental to life, water management must be democratic and transparent, and represent the needs of the people—none more important than women. However, only a few women are in positions of power when it com= es to decision-making on water resources. Although the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) include a gender perspective, women conti= nue to be ignored in polices, projects and institutions dealing with water resources management. Women’s participation, especially that of poor women and indigenous women, in water-related decision-making is limited, and water governance does not take into account gender-differentiated responsibilities and needs related to water. Current methods of managing resources are gender-blind and reinforce stereotypical roles and social nor= ms, directing technical and financial control to the male community members. Th= ere is also a need to involve men in safe water provisions, in order to change these stereotypes. Moreover, including a gender perspective in water resour= ce management has been proven to be cost-effective. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> A study from Chile in 2000 showed that the governmental institutions working on water resources have a very low percen= tage of women at the devisor and planning levels. This percentage rises just a little at the technical and professional levels. The number of women that annually get the university hydraulics civil engineer degree is very limite= d. Over the past two years the Dirección General de Aguas, the governme= ntal regulatory agency concerned with water resource management, has started to develop educational programs about resources management for school children, headed by a team of women (civil engineers and geographers). In this area it seems that the gender participation and commitment is very high and strong, promoting a new water culture, based on sharing and conflict resolution. <i= >Source: Source: María Angélica Alegria, 2002. <a style=3D'mso-footnot= e-id: ftn1' href=3D"#_ftn1" name=3D"_ftnref1" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[1]<![endif]></a><o:p></o:p></sp= an> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Caste- and class-based discrimination and resultant violence is seen in large part= s of India and elsewhere in the world. Access to adjacent and safe water sources= is limited to members of the upper caste or class and other women have to trav= el long distances for the same. These situations result in social tension and = violence. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Low-income women facing time constraints are sometimes forced to accept lower quality water—often ground water that is not clean enough for consumption. Polluted and contaminated water directly threatens family health and wellne= ss, whereas the awareness level of women regarding contamination of water is of= ten poor. In Bangladesh, well wat= er is poisoned by arsenic; in India, fluoride content= is causing the debilitating disease Fluorosis; and in areas where privatization has increased the cost of water, women cannot afford clean wa= ter and must rely on disease-ridden sources. As women are the primary water managers at the local level, they are more likely to be exposed to water-bo= rne diseases, especially when their awareness level regarding contaminated wate= r is poor. Just as 90% of all illnesses are transmitted by contaminated water, 7= 0% of the world’s blind are women who have been infected by the water-bo= rne disease trachoma, either through direct contact with infected water or thro= ugh their children. Unfortunately, the majority of resources are allocated towa= rd curing water-related illnesses, instead of preventative measures such as adequate sanitation and hygiene education. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women are also the primary caretakers for family members who are ill, and the imp= act of HIV/AIDS has been particularly devastating in this regard. In addition to higher numbers of women being infected, the HIV/AIDS epidemic puts an extra work burden on women’s shoulders, including care for infected family members, time taken away from income-generating activities and education, a= nd the need for increased amounts of water. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Saline water ingression and resultant brackishness of drinking water tube wells is= a major concern in many coastal zones, such as coastal India. This forces the local communities to go for unsafe drinking water in shallow tube wells, wh= ich are often contaminated. <o:p></o:p> <o:= p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Women face a disproportionate amount of economic and social losses from floods, d= am construction and water pollution. In Bangladesh, women’s normal responsibilities increase during the flood season. The rising number of female-headed households is particularly important because of economic and social marginalisation, as well as limited access to flood relief and rehabilitation. Many of these women resort to a pattern of emergency borrow= ing or selling of assets, such as jewelry and utensils. Women tend to be at gre= ater risk than men of long-term economic loss, because of the societal devaluati= on of their assets. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> The International Fund for Agric= ultural Development has highlighted the fact that women head an increasing number of rural households—already one out of four—in the developing worl= d. In Sub Saharan Africa this is as high as one household in three. These women are put in the position of farming the land and providing for their families alone, without the benefit of legal rights to land and water. Source: Alegria 2004; GWA, 2003 <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn2' href=3D"#_ftn2" name=3D"_ftnref2" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]><span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:12.0pt;font-famil= y:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho";mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-lan= guage: JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>[2]<![endif]></= a> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>When water becomes scarce, one of the coping strategies employed by women is buy= ing water from vendors. This does= not guarantee quality, and high prices contribute to a class division in affordability of such resources. This puts an extra stress on low-income wo= men. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> On the outskirts of Cairo, which is not serviced= by the public system, the government allows private distribution of water. Ven= dors sell water at prices five to ten times higher than the government utilities charge, and it is delivered in unhygienic tankers. Source: Samia Galal S= aad, Alexandria University<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>The environmental and human implications of water scarcity have not received en= ough attention. As a result, wetlands, floodplains, and coastal ecosystems are in danger of irreversible degradation, and this reality comes with gender-rela= ted consequences. It is poor families who draw most heavily on ‘common property’ resources, like forests, rangelands, water bodies and land-locked fishing sources. Women suffer disproportionately when such resources are degraded. Conservation of water ecosystems is critical for the improvement of women’s access to clean water, and for the survival of poor families and communities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>In many cases access to water is linked to land rights – which are embed= ded in either national law and/or customary and religious laws, and in many par= ts of the world women’s right to own or inherit land is prohibited. </sp= an>While women perform the majority of the world’s agricultural work, they often do not have secure land tenure. Extremely complicated land records= and ownership related procedures are a major deterrent. If women do have access= to land, the plot is often poor quality soil or does not provide sufficient ac= cess to irrigation. Because land is used as collateral to obtain credit, many women are barred from financial independence. Although the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has been ratified by a large majority of the world’s governments, broader implementation of the Convention with regard to natural resources is needed. Tanzania and Nepal h= ave successfully used CEDAW to expand constitutional guarantees of equality to access land and other natural resources.&n= bsp; These approaches could be adopted in other countries.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Carmen Deere and Magdalena Leon conducted a stud= y in 1998 on the gender impacts of land and water rights from the land reforms of 1960s and 1970s to the neo-liberal counter reforms of the 1990s in nine countries of Latin America. The study showed that despite the salutary effe= ct of the reforms on land redistribution and rural poverty, they served to accentuate women’s economic dependency and marginalisation. The requirements that beneficiaries be heads of households (generally male), and permanent agricultural workers (again mostly male), exclude most women from land ownership. As water in Latin America is mostly tied to land ownership = or legally recognized community ownership, women thereby lost any legal claim to water= and their stake in its management. Source: Alegria/GWA, 2004<o:p></o:p><= /span> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Water scarcity is increasingly becoming a trigger for military conflict, notably = in the Middle East and Mexican Valley.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn3' href= =3D"#_ftn3" name=3D"_ftnref3" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[3]<![endif]= ></a> The growing number of conflicts and wars leads to increasing numbers of displaced people and refugees, the majority of who are women and children. = The loss of land and water sources causes even more insecurity among refugees, = and puts an extra burden on women. Securing access to land and safe water are m= ajor challenges for the resettlement of women refugees and their families. <o:p>= </o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Few development issues demonstrate the gender divide in human society more graphically than sanitation. As the traditional water managers and custodia= ns of family health, women shoulder a huge burden in coping with the lack of b= asic sanitation services. The lack of sanitation facilities has significantly different impacts on women and men. In rural areas, due to deforestation and the expansion of cultivation, women must wake up even earlier in the mornin= g to attend to their needs. Similar societal pressures for privacy do not put the same onus on men. Because of the absence of clean and private sanitation facilities in schools, ten percent of school-age girls in Africa do not att= end school during menstruation. There is also a violence dimension to this: in = both urban and rural areas, women and girls have been raped and assaulted when attempting to go out to defecate in the dark in insecure places far from th= eir homes. The lack of easy access to sanitation facilities is also an important cause for the high prevalence of urinary tract infections in women and girl= s. Proper sanitation facilities are a top priority for women and girls. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>In every corner of the globe, women have proved to be strong advocates for the= ir own concerns regarding water. Human rights advocates recognize access to and control of water as a critical component of gender equality and women’= ;s empowerment, as well as environmental security and poverty eradication. Wom= en have protested the lack of water services from the Ukraine to Bolivia to the United States. They have organized for water conservation, from the Chipko movement in the North Indian Himalaya to the Narmada Bachao Andolan movemen= t in India protesting the Narmada dam, and many others in Indonesia, Burkina Fas= o, and Kenya. New international networks like the Gender and Water Alliance have been formed to collect and exchange information and strengthen technical capacity on gender, water and sanitation. The cases in this paper are an illustration of some of those efforts. </s= pan><o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> III. Lessons Learned on Human Settlements<o:p></= o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>Ø <![endif]>Human settlements are the physical spaces where women, their families and their c= ommunities live and work. Women’s aspirations for themselves and the lives of th= eir children, families, neighbourhoods and communities are articulated in terms= of changes they would like to see in their settlements—whether these cha= nges are in the form of secure housing, food security, healthcare facilities, schools, safe transport, childcare, clean water supply or sanitation. Women’s restricted mobility and gender roles also mean that they need= to find work close to their homes.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>Most wome= n do not own the homes they live in or the lands they work on. Inheritance and prope= rty rights (both legal and customary) work in favour of men. This leaves women vulnerable in times of conflict, and it means that they have little say in decisions to invest in or divest from household assets. On the other hand w= hen women have access and control over economic assets it provides them leverag= e in household and community decision-making processes. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Swayam Shikshan Prayog= in India has facilitated the formation of over 1000 women’s savings and credit groups who have mobilized their own savings to provide loans for one another. These groups are organized into federations that have the ability = to leverage bulk loans from banks. In addition to the benefits of having access and control over a financial resource base, savings and credit groups are a= lso the unit through which women start organizing to address development issues= in their settlements such as such as access to electricity, water supply, healthcare, schools, etc. </s= pan>Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>WomenR= 17;s safety in settlements is a serious concern for women. The possibility of violence and crime, particularly in times of ethnic tension and conflict severely constrain women’s mobility. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Montreal the Women’s Urban Safety Action Committee (CAFSU), a partnership comprising grassroots women, city planners and local authorities and researchers, came together to creat= e a women-friendly transport system where women feel safe using public transpor= t at night. Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>In additi= on women with children need access to child-friendly spaces for education, childcare= and recreation. Mother Centres in Germany, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Slovenia = are where grassroots women have located or built spaces in which women with families can meet and address questions of family policy. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>The roles= that society ascribes to men and women mean that men and women use their living = and working environments in very different ways—yet women and their needs= are frequently excluded from decision making processes at community, local government and national government levels. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <h1 style=3D'margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l21 level1 lfo28; tab-stops:list .5in'><![if !supportLists]>Ø = <![endif]>The= HIV AIDS pandemic has had devastating effects on women living in poverty. Limit= ed access and control of economic assets impede women’s ability to negot= iate safe sexual practices, and can result in the pursuit of sex work for surviv= al or remaining in sexually risky or violent relationships<a style=3D'mso-foot= note-id: ftn4' href=3D"#_ftn4" name=3D"_ftnref4" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]><span style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-= size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Rom= an"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'= >[4]<![endif]></a>. While the policy discussions focus= on preventive strategies or access to medical treatment, little attention has = been paid to ways in which women are coping with the pandemic. Because women are= the primary caregivers in Africa, this places huge burdens on women. Inequitable inheritance practices coupled with land grabbing create a situation in which women headed households are all the more vulnerable and food insecure.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn5' href=3D"#_ftn5" name=3D"_ftnref5" title=3D""= ><![if !supportFootnotes]><span style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-= size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Rom= an"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'= >[5]<![endif]></a><o:p></o:p></h1> <= o:p> </o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Groots Kenya is a network of gra= ssroots women’s organizations in Kenya where women have organized community safety nets to provide home-based care to people living with HIV/AIDS, to t= ake care of orphans and elderly, to assist community members access medical cen= tres and to provide food to the sick and their families. In the absence of any institutional support for such work, women have been mobilizing their own meagre resources to support these efforts. Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>Women als= o bear the brunt of destruction wrought by disasters. Usually, women are the ones = who play a central role in the processes of recovery of their communities and t= he reconstruction of their settlements. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>In post-d= isaster experiences in India and Turkey, it is evident that investing in women̵= 7;s leadership in times of crises has accelerated community reconstruction and recovery processes and reconfigured the power relationships among women, communities and government. This transformation has had a long-term impact = in strengthening women’s participation in development processes.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn6' href=3D"#_ftn6" name=3D"_ftnref6" title=3D""= ><![if !supportFootnotes]><span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;m= so-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>[6= ]<![endif]></a><o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <![if !supportLists]>&= Oslash; = <![endif]>For women= to most effectively participate in decision-making processes they need to be presen= t in larger numbers (at least 30%)<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn7' href=3D"#_ft= n7" name=3D"_ftnref7" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]><span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;m= so-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"MS Mincho"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:JA;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA'>[7= ]<![endif]></a> and they require information and the support of organized women’s gro= ups to identify and articulate gender interests to build confidence so that they are effective and accountable in public positions. This is particularly critical for increasing poor women’s political participation. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Uganda the Women= 217;s Caucus worked to keep women members of the National Parliament informed of women’s priorities and how they could intervene in official debates. Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) in Uganda has also been involved in training women on doing gender analysis of budgets allocated at local and national levels. Source: www.groots.org<o:p></o:p></= p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> The esse= ntial role that urban women play in urban development and social organization needs constant attention. Important drivers are international organisations such = as Groots, the international network of Grassroots Organisations Operating Together in Sisterhood, supporting communities in urban and rural settings.= The Huairou Commission advocates for a gender perspective at international leve= ls, for example during global Habitat meetings. Engendering Local Agenda 21 processes, such as promoted by the NGO REDEH in Brazil, is also a powerful strategy to bring a gender perspective into urban development. <s= pan lang=3DFR style=3D'font-size:10.5pt;mso-ansi-language:FR'>Sources: <= /i><a href=3D"http://www.groots.org/">= www.groots.org</a></= i>; <= span lang=3DEN-GB style=3D'font-size:10.5pt'><a href=3D"http://www.huairou.org/"= >www.huairou.org</a><= /i> <o:p></o:p></spa= n> <o:p></o:p> <h5>Participants at the Grassroots Women’s International Academy conv= ened by Groots International and the Huairou Commission during Istanbul+5 (June 2001) made the following recommendations:</h5> Governments should support grassroots women’s initiatives in th= ree ways:<o:p></o:p> <![if !supportLists]>(1) <![endif]>Resources, for grassroots women’s collectives for their learning processes and learning exchanges.<o:p></o:p>= <![if !supportLists]>(2) <![endif]>Visibility and opportunities for womenR= 17;s initiatives to engage with mainstream institutions.<o:p></o:p> <![if !supportLists]>(3) <![endif]>Policy support that encourages grassroots women’s participation in shaping policies that impact their well-bein= g. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= <o:p> </o:p>= IV. Trends and Developments: Challenges ahead<o:= p></o:p> &nb= sp; <o:p></o:p> This section describes major tre= nds and developments in the field of gender, water, sanitation and human settlement= s. In the context of new perspectives and commitments in the field of sustaina= ble and equitable development, globalisation, environmental change and growing insecurity, the following trends have a major impact on women’s relat= ionship to water, sanitation and human settlements. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <h3>Water as a human= right<o:p></o:p></h3> The righ= t to water is clearly established under international human rights law: all people have the right of access to the amount of water required to sustain life and ful= fil basic needs.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn8' href=3D"#_ftn8" name=3D"_ftnr= ef8" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[8]<![endif]></a> In 2002 the Committee = on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva, recognized water as human right: “The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life = in human dignity…the right to water entitles everyone to sufficient, saf= e, acceptable, physically accessible water for personal and domestic uses.R= 21; (General Comment no.15) In the same comment the commission mentions that pe= ople may not “be deprived of its means of subsistence.”<o:p></o:p></= span> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> The right to water has been iden= tified as a component of the right to housing, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and the right to food under the International Covenant = on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the world’s most impor= tant social and economic rights treaty.<a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn9' href=3D= "#_ftn9" name=3D"_ftnref9" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[9]<![endif]= ></a> Human rights standards are applicable to governments (and other actors) no matter how they arrange water services. These standards include the require= ment that drinking water be available and accessible without discrimination. </s= pan> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> In South= Africa a minimum amount of water is made available free of charge to all citizens. T= he relatively affluent tax income base of the country facilitates this measure. This shows also that there is a need for progressive water tariffs, and subsidies for connection fees etc. in order to guarantee access to a minimum amount of affordable water, particularly for the poor.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Presentl= y there is mainly a competition-based approach to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), where ministers and more powerful stakeholders lobby for water righ= ts. The competitive approach tends to focus on issues of legal water rights, of= ten associated with land rights. With most land owned by men, water rights accordingly are awarded to men and not to women. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Water access for the people of Zaragosa Island i= n the Philippines, depends on the ebb of the tide. At high tide, a group of mostly women and children paddle their small boats to a single communal faucet on = the mainland provided by the municipal government. They collect water in plastic containers, bathe and do laundry. Many spend two hours per day paddling back and forth, on top of considerable time waiting for their turn at the tap. T= here are communal faucets on the island, but they do not operate well. Scenes li= ke this repeat themselves across the Philippines. That is why the recently concluded National Rural Women’s Congress, attended by 280 participan= ts from rural women’s organizations, called for increased access to water services as a human right. It asked the government to prioritise public spe= nding on basic social services, over national debt appropriation, which consumes = 48 percent of the national budget. Source: Agnes Balota, Tambuyog Developme= nt Center = <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Priva= tisation of water resources The effects of globalisation are increasingly uneven, and have a clear gender dimension. Privatisation is one aspect of the world’s water crisis that is having a deeply negative impact on the livelihoods of women. Increasingly, water resources managemen= t in countries across the globe is being determined by policies of the internati= onal financial and trade institutions—the World Bank, International Moneta= ry Fund (IMF), and World Trade Organization (WTO). Privatisation has been instigated through structural adjustment programmes, debt loan conditions, poverty reduction strategies, international development assistance, and ‘trade-related’ policies under regional trade agreements such as the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of t= he Americas (FTAA) negotiations. </span= > <o:p> </o:p> Providing basic human services is increasingly difficult for countries crippled by debt and restricted by structural adjustment policies that prioritise loan repayment over social spending. As governments relinquish control of domestic water systems under pressure from international institutions and regional banks and trade agreements, transnational corporations (TNCs) are gaining unprecedented acc= ess to national and local water supplies. <o:p> </o:p> The global trend towards privati= sation of what have traditionally been public services has reduced the democratic involvement of both citizens and governments in water management decisions.= <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn10' href=3D"#_ftn10" name=3D"_ftnref10" title= =3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[10]<![endif= ]></a> Governments tend to lose internal skills and expertise, while the concentra= tion of power in the hands of a single corporation and the inability of governme= nts to reclaim management of water services allow corporations to impose their interests on governments. As water becomes profit-driven, water resources management lacks commitment to expanded access to low-income consumers, resulting in service cut-offs, weak regularly oversight, lack of accountabi= lity to local consumer needs, and inequitable quality of services based on the ability to pay (willingness-to-pay is something else as the ability-to-pay, c.q. affordability). <o:p> </o:p> The privatisation of water, and = indeed all other natural resources, is increasingly infringing on people’s rights and livelihoods around the world, most severely on poor women and girls. Wa= ter privatisation perpetuates gender inequalities by relying on traditional gen= der roles that have made women and girls responsible for and the main suppliers= of water to their families and households. Women are disproportionately experiencing the burdens of privatisation policies in the form of astronomi= cal price hikes, water cut-offs, deteriorating water quality, and health and sanitation hazards. Overall the choices that poor women must make are not t= aken into account. <o:p> </o:p> Women have been central in the s= truggle against the sale of public water services to transnational corporations, e.= g. in Cochabamba (Bolivia), Atlanta (USA) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) (see al= so the case below). Recognizing the human right to water, they claim that governments should keep their responsibility for public services and common resources, guaranteeing safe access to clean and affordable water resources, particularly for the poor and women. <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In the region of Maldon= ado in Uruguay, water service was not a problem until it was privatised in a proce= ss that faced popular resistance, lacked any formal public consultation, and followed a policy shaped by agreements with international financial institutions. In the poorer areas, neighbourhood organizations fought to de= fend community standpipes. The standpipes were installed in different zones arou= nd the country by the public water and sanitation ministry to assure that pota= ble water was available in areas that lacked piped services to households. When= the private companies stepped in, their first move was to eliminate the standpi= pes, a strategy designed to make people pay high fees for a household connection. Citizens unable to pay would lose water access.<o:p></o:p> The neighbourhood comm= ission of the San Antonio district, run primarily by women, successfully lobbied l= ocal authorities to maintain the community tap. Now the neighbourhood standpipe = not only supplies water to families there, but also to neighbours from other districts where standpipes have been removed or household water connections= cut off due to the inability to pay the high water rates. A lack of resources, however, means the service quality has been very low. Source: Juan Berha= u, FFOSE, and Carlos Santos, REDES<o:p></o:p> </div> <h3><o:p> </o:p></h3> <h3>Global environme= ntal change, including climate change<o:p></o:p></h3> Women are extremely vulnerable to environmental change, including climate change. Increasingly the availability of water resources is fluctuating and becoming unpredictable—too much (flooding) or a lack of water (droughts) in certain periods. Extreme weather conditions increase the burden of water collection, and threaten women’s livelihoods and lives. The expected changes in biodiversity, will affect women disproportionately because of th= eir roles in agricultural production and resources collection and management. Moreover women, because of their disadvantaged starting position and prevai= ling gender disparities, need more time to rebuild and restore their livelihoods. <o:p></o:p= > <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> There ar= e many casualties among women in disasters. Particularly if women do not receive timely warnings or other information about hazards and risks or if their mobility is restricted or otherwise affected due to cultural and social constraints. Case studies indicate that women are very often highly affecte= d by hazardous conditions and resulting disasters. Often they face increased fam= ily and community work, loss of working space and tools, intensified care-giving responsibilities, and heightened risk of domestic and sexual violence. Women’s work expands greatly during disasters (of whatever size), and their access to resources—particularly land and water—for survi= val and recovery is constrained.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Women wh= o regularly cope with all kinds of ‘daily’ disasters develop local strategi= es for reducing risk and responding to natural disasters. They play an importa= nt role in disaster prevention, preparedness and response in communities and households, but are often marginalized by agencies and organizations. It is often the case that disaster recovery efforts do not recognize women’s capabilities, and can in fact reinforce or exacerbate existing gender and o= ther social inequalities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> A gender= approach is still lacking in climate change debates and research. The lessons learned from disaster prevention and mitigation, show however, that a gender perspective is imperative in understanding and coping with the consequences= of environmental change in general, and climate change (and related changes in water cycles) in particular. &n= bsp; <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In Egypt, an innovative partnership has been cre= ated in Alexandria between women’s health and environmental management and will soon integrate emergency management, leading to the training of traine= rs. Girls are trained as ‘environmental promoters’, and thus empowe= red in the unconventional area of environmental health.<o:p></o:p> In= Nepal, the Participatory Disaster Management Programme begins by convening separate gender groups to discuss the different needs and priorities of women and me= n, before a joint executive committee meets to refine and endorse their input.= In many groups, women are active in greater numbers than men and thus women’s participation in risk reduction has increased. Furthermore, w= omen are leading mixed-sex groups, thus demonstrating their empowerment through = the programme. <o:p></o:p> <h4>Source: UN-DAW, = ISDR Expert Group Meeting on Environmental Management and Mitigation of Natural Disasters: a gender perspective, 6-9 November 2001, Ankara.<o:p></o:p></spa= n></h4> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Women= as Agents of Change<o:p></o:p> Women th= roughout the world are mobilizing and demanding that their voices be heard. Their actions from the local village to the global policy-making arenas are a dri= ving force for change and transformation. Women are advocating at the local, national and global levels to demand a human rights approach to water and o= ther natural resources that are necessary for human survival.<o:p></o:p><= /p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> From the= 1975 UN International Year of Women, through the Decade on Women (1976-1985) and the global conferences and summits of the 1990s, women participated actively to shape economic, social, political and sustainable development, by getting t= he facts, strategizing, demanding accountability, lobbying, networking and building coalitions. Many are active leaders in the struggle for safe, affordable and accessible drinking water.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> At the S= econd World Water Forum in the Hague in 2000 the efforts made by women groups in joining forces in the water-gender sustainability lobby resulted in the foundation of the Gender and Water Alliance (<a href=3D"http://www.genderandwateralliance.org/">www.genderandwateralliance.= org</a>). The Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO) is also active in promoting a gender equality perspective in policies relating to access to water.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Internat= ional alliances between women, environmentalists, human rights activists and professionals in the water and sanitation sector are yielding quantifiable results for sustainable management of water resources. Global networks of organizations working in partnership to bring the water-gender-poverty-sustainable development nexus into practice, have built global synergy for the inclusion of gender as a cross-cutting issue in IWRM. The following are examples of the efforts of women’s organizations in this area.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In 1991, following the Chernobyl nuclear disaste= r, a proactive group of young mothers established MAMA-86 as a Kiev city public organization. Today, MAMA-86 has blossomed into a national environmental NGO network of 17 organizations from various regions of Ukraine, and is an acti= ve partner in Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF). <o:p></o:p></= p> In Ukraine the water situation is critical. MAMA= -86 kicked off its Drinking Water in Ukraine campaign in 1997, together with 11 organizations from its network. An early initiative addressed the lack of information disclosure in the country by carrying out regular information gathering and independent research on drinking water quality and public opi= nion on the issue. Since 2001, MAMA-86 has been implementing a programme of technical solutions for improving access to safe drinking water in urban and rural areas. A broad public information and education campaign was also launched, disseminating information through all available channels, includi= ng radio and TV. The main objectives of the MAMA-86 water campaign are to prot= ect the drinking water sources in the country through new approaches such as eco-sanitation and organic agriculture, public, lobbying and the developmen= t of pilot projects run by local communities. Source: Anna Tsvetkova, Mama-86= <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Women follow a strict form of purdah in Hoto vil= lage, Baluchistan in Pakistan. In 1994, a Participatory Action Research team went= to Hoto to help improve its water management problems. For a year, the men wou= ld not give permission to the team to meet the women. Eventually, the women we= re able to participate in a joint meeting to develop strategies to solve the drinking water problem. The men suggested extending the distribution pipes = of an old government water supply scheme to all the households in the unserved area. The women put up a counter-proposal to build a new water tank on unus= ed land, which would provide water to the non-functioning public standpipes. T= he community adopted the women’s solution, which was far more cost-effec= tive. <o:p></o:p> This marked a major change in the village. Now t= he women have become active participants in decision-making, and significant changes have been made in their lives, such as hygiene education. Most significant has been the demand for education for their daughters: in 1998 a new girls school was opened in Hoto. Traditional leaders have been impresse= d by the results of the project. The same approach is taken to other villages now. Source: Alegria/GWA, = 2004<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> In 1995, the Nhouonda’s community water management system in Cameroon was close to breaking down. The male-dominated village management committee was not functioning and the village women refu= sed to pay their monthly contributions. An external team of experts that came to assist the community encouraged the women of the village to participate in = the problem-solving.<o:p></o:p> As a result, new pipes were bought, old, leaky o= nes were replaced, and broken taps were repaired. Some people were elected to collect monthly contributions for maintenance. All the women living around a standpipe organised to clean it regularly. At a later meeting, when the men insinuated that they would not cooperate with some of the decisions taken by the women, the women openly said that they had ways to sanction the men: th= ey would refuse give them food. A young man expressed fear of women knowing too much, which could lead to divorces in the village. A woman stood up and challenged him, saying there had been divorces before. This led to a major debate betw= een women and men on community based issues.&n= bsp; A youth association is now also taking more assertive action in the community’s water management. Source: Alegria/GWA, 2004<o:p></o:p>= </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> The Canaveralejo River, which supplies water to the 3,800 inhabitants of the to= wn of La Serena in Colombia, was highly contaminated. In 1995 the women of the community struggled to secure leadership positions in the Community Action Board. Eventually, supported by some dedicated men, they succeeded. “= At the beginning it was tough,” recalls resident Fabiola Gomez. “A= ll organisations were run by men, and when women wanted to participate we had = to impose ourselves by force. It was a hard task, but we let them see that we = were also able enough, and we did better than men.” Once the women were in leadership positions a treatment plant was finally constructed. Since then there have been many improvements. “For instance, diarrhoea and other children’s skin diseases have been reduced,” said resident Dona Fabiola. When cholera broke out in the Cali, La Serena was spared. <o:p></o= :p> The women went on to play prominent roles in community development. Collective participation led to improvements in the power supply, paving of the street= s, collecting of refuse, construction of a school and a health centre. Sour= ce: Alegria/GWA, 2004<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <div style=3D'border:solid windowtext 1.0pt;mso-border-alt:solid windowtext= .5pt; padding:1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt'> Since the Second World Water Forum in 2000 at The Hague, Women in Europe for a Co= mmon Future (WECF), the Netherlands Council of Women and a growing number of national and international partners have come together to work on water, sustainable development and gender. In partnership they have formed the Wom= en for Water Initiative, which focuses on the full and equal participation of women in integrated water management. The Women for Water Initiative has now emerged as a full-fledged partnership of existing local women’s groups and carriers of community development. The initiative stimulates women to a= ct locally and to join forces globally. <o:p></o:p> Recent activities include gathering and dissemin= ating information, brokering, up-scaling of successful activities, joint project development by local partners, the development of indicators for success and failure, and the promotion of Gender-Responsive Budgeting in the water and sanitation sector. A toolkit has been developed that includes good practice= s of partnerships and twinning between women’s groups in the Netherlands a= nd their partners in developing countries. In years to come, this approach is envisaged to result in the replication and up-scaling of other local partnerships. Source: Alice Bouman-Dentener, WECF, 2004 <o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> V. Recommendations<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> (a) H= uman Rights approach:<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Access to water is a basic human right that is essential for achieving gender equality, sustainable development and poverty alleviat= ion.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Governments are ultimately responsible for the provisio= n of basic human needs, including adequate water and sanitation to women and the= ir families.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Ratif= y the Convention to Eliminate all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), remove reservations and ensure its implementation to the fullest. <o:p></o:= p> <o:p>= </o:p> Recog= nize the polluting of water and environmental resources in war and conflict situatio= ns as a crime against humanity.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> (b) W= omen’s access to and control of water and land:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Ensure women’s access to and ownership of = land. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Recognize that women’s access to water is directly related to access to land and eliminate constitutional and legal barriers that bar women from owning or inheriting land.<o:p></o:p></= i> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Local governments should support the protection of water resources from pollution and make available appropriate affordable, locally= -owned technologies, which support community efforts, particularly for women.</spa= n><o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Promote effective decentralization by transferring responsibilities and resources from the central government to the local government as service delivery and manageme= nt is the responsibility of local governments. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= Central governments shou= ld focus on creating an enabling environment through regulations and tariffs favoring pro-poor and equitable service delivery.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= <h6>© Women’s Access to Sanitation<o:p></o:p></= span></h6> A focus on gender is of particular importance with regard to sanita= tion facilities, as the availability of water and sanitary facilities in schools= can enable girls to get an education, and the location of water points and latr= ines close to the home can reduce violence against women. <o:p></o:p>= The success and effective use of sanitation facilities will depend = on the involvement of both women and men in selecting the location and technol= ogy of such facilities. Women are also crucial in instilling behavioural norms = in young children, including those relating to hygiene. <o:p></o:p> National governments should ensure that sanitation poli= cies are gender sensitive, by enabling the participation of women in the policy framework process. Gender provisions should address both practical and strategic needs. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> (d) G= ender mainstreaming:<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> All water and sanitation institutions should ado= pt and implement a gender equity policy to ensure gender mainstreaming in policies, programmes, budgets and projects. This should also include gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation systems.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Ensure that national sanitation policies are gen= der sensitive, by enabling the participation of women in the policy framework process. Gender provisions should address both practical and strategic need= s. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Develop and use gender mainstreaming tools at the institutional level, including: sex-disaggregated data, gender analysis, ge= nder balance, gender review process for country reports, gender budget initiativ= es, and gender-sensitive indicators (particularly indicators that cross multiple themes for achievement of the MDGs and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation)= .<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiatives (GRBI) m= ust be used in Integrated Water Resources Management to ensure accountability to commitments on gender equity, poverty eradication, sustainable development = and rights-based governance. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Institute gender training and awareness raising = with all staff within water institutions. Training materials about gender and poverty should be developed and targeted to senior managers and staff in national ministries and water utility boards, to municipal councillors and staff, to engineers, and engineering colleges, to finance and planning departments, as well as personnel in operations and maintenance. <o:p></o:p= > <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Develop a set of global criteria for scaling-up = gender equity and social justice for the poor in the various water sub-sectors. Th= ese should be integrated in the national MDG-reports.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> (e) P= romoting women’s participation and empowerment:<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Water management must be democratic and transparent, and represent the needs of the people, especially women. As the primary collect= ors of water throughout the world, women must be recognized as major stakeholde= rs in the decision-making process.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Gover= nments must consult with stakeholders at all levels of decision and policy making,= and establish and strengthen mechanisms to facilitate the participation of all stakeholders, particularly poor women, indigenous peoples, and other disadvantaged groups defined by race, ethnicity, economic status, age, and religion.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Promo= te equal representation of women (50%) in the water sector at all levels.= Activities that promote women's equal participation are critical, due to the historical disadvantage faced by women.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Partnerships between governments, NGOs and donors should be formalized and core funding should be made available for women NGO’s and CBO’s to facilitate their meaningful contribution in = all critical phases of policy and project design and implementation.<o:p></o:p>= <o:p> </o:p> Allocate resources to women’s organization= s for projects related to water, sanitation, and human settlements, including wat= er resources management, capacity development, and training for women in water-related professions.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> (f) P= rivate sector involvement in water resources management:<o:p></o:p> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Water must be identified primarily as a public good and human right and not simply as a commodity to be traded in the open market. = As a public good, water must be managed for social needs and environmental sustainability rather than for short-term profit.<o:p></o:p> . <o:p></o:p> Recognize the specific impact= that privatisation of goods and services like water has on the livelihoods of wo= men, particularly poor women. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Shifting responsibility from governments to large priva= te corporations is problematic, as profits often supersede human needs and rig= hts. Policies that favour privatization of public services remain largely unaccountable to the people they are supposed to benefit.<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p><= /p> Require the private sector to publicly disclose details of their operations related= to water, including information on turnover, profit, number of service delivery sites, average cost, capital expenditure, transaction with parent company a= nd outstanding debts.<o:p></o:p> <h1><o:p> </o:p></h1> (g) Resource mobilization:= <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Funds and other resources should be allocated to civil society organizations, particularly those focused on women, recognizing that women are full partners and not a recipient target group for water and sanitation projects to increase the capacity enhancement and development of poor women and girls, and to women's organizations based on their own priorities. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <h1>(f) Human settlements from a gender perspecti= ve:<o:p></o:p></h1> <o:p>&nb= sp;</o:p> Solic= it, validate, and remunerate the expertise, priorities and solutions of grassro= ots women’s groups. Resource these organizations to enrich, expand and consolidate their knowledge and skill base.<o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Use i= nstitutional expertise, resources and contacts to provide back-up support to grassroots initiatives. And enable scaling-up of grassroots practices<o:p></o:p></span= > <o:p>= </o:p> Open = up existing and create new channels for grassroots expertise to enter decision making on all levels of policy making, political administration as well as = in civil society, like media, foundations, banks and education institutions. <= o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Suppo= rt initiatives by local institutions in partnering with grassroots women’= ;s groups as a way of building institutional capacity.<o:p></o:p></= p> <o:p>= </o:p> Ensur= e that resources and information are put in the hands of grassroots women’s groups. <o:p></o:p> <o:p>= </o:p> Provi= de resources and an enabling policy environment for grassroots women to field-= test strategies learned through peer learning processes.<o:p></o:p></= p> <o:p>= </o:p> Enable grassroots women to develop their own criteria to evaluate success.<o:p></o= :p> <o:p>= </o:p> . <o:= p></o:p> Acknowledgements<o:p></o:p> This pap= er was developed through a worldwide consultation of women’s organisations, facilitated by the Women’s Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO). Specific contributions were provided by the Gender and Water Allian= ce (GWA), Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), the Huairou Commission, Groots-International, Oxfam, the Netherlands Council of Women, and several individuals. <o:p></o:p></span= > </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote-list'><![if !supportFootnotes]> <hr align=3Dleft size=3D1 width=3D"33%"> <![endif]> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn1> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn1' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef1" name=3D"_ftn1" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[1]<![end= if]></a> Alegria, Marie-Angelica, 2002. Water Resources Manag= ement in Chile: Gender Participation. Presented at: Women= 217;s Worlds 2002: the 8th Annual Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, Gendered Worlds: Gains and Challenges, Kampala, Uganda. <o:p></o:p><= /p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn2> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn2' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef2" name=3D"_ftn2" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[2]<![endif]></a> GWA (Gender and Water Alliance). The Gender and Water Development Report 2003: Gender Perspectives on Policies in the Water Sector. http://www.genderandwateralliance.org/reports/GWA%20Annual%20Report.pdf </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn3> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn3' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef3" name=3D"_ftn3" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[3]<![endif]></a> Barl= ow, Maude and Clarke, Tony. Blue Gold: the Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of= the World’s Water. The New Press. New York. 2002. Page 76. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn4> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn4' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef4" name=3D"_ftn4" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[4]<![endif]></a> World Bank (2002) HIV/AIDS and Gender Equality. Gender and Development Briefing Notes, World Bank <a href=3D"http://www.worldbank.org/gender">www.worldbank= .org\gender</a>. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn5> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn5' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef5" name=3D"_ftn5" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[5]<![endif]></a> Bayl= ies, C. (2002) The Impact of Aids on Rural Households in Africa: A shock like any other? Development and Change 33(4): 611-632. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn6> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn6' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef6" name=3D"_ftn6" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[6]<![endif]></a> See = <a href=3D"http://www.sspindia.org/">www.sspindia.org</a> for more details on = Swayam Shikshan Prayog’s experiences in post-disaster reconstruction in Maharashtra and Gujarat. For more on the experiences of Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work in Turkey, see Ackar, S. (2001) Grassroots Women’s Collectives’ Roles in Post-Disaster Effort: Potential f= or Sustainable Partnership and Good Governance. (Lessons learned from the Marm= ara Earthquake in Turkey.) prepared for the UN-DAW, ISDR Expert Group Meeting on “Environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters: a gender perspective” 6-9 November, Ankara, Turkey. </s= pan><o:p></o:p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn7> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn7' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef7" name=3D"_ftn7" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[7]<![endif]></a> Women’s Environment and Development Organization (2001). Getting the Balance Right: Strategies for Change. <a href=3D"http://www.wedo.org/">www.wedo.org</a>. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn8> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn8' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef8" name=3D"_ftn8" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[8]<![endif]></a> UNIF= EM. “Promoting and Protecting Women’s Right to Water in the Context= of Globalization and Feminized Poverty.” New York. Page 7. <a href=3D"http://www.unifem.org/">www.unifem.org</a>.<o:p></o:p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn9> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn9' href=3D"#_ftnr= ef9" name=3D"_ftn9" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[9]<![endif]></a> I= bid. </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footnote' id=3Dftn10> <a style=3D'mso-footnote-id:ftn10' href=3D"#_ftn= ref10" name=3D"_ftn10" title=3D""><![if !supportFootnotes]>[10]<![endif]></a> Yar= on, Gil. “The Final Frontier: A Working Paper on the Big 10 Global Water Corporations and the Privatization and Corporation of the World’s Last Public Resource.” Polaris Institute. 2000. Page 3. <a href=3D"http://www.polarisinstitute.org/">www.polarisinstitute.org</a>. </div> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050 Content-Location: file:///C:/5FA9410E/Womens-2004-Women_files/header.htm Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" <html xmlns:v=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns=3D"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <meta http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dus-ascii"> <meta name=3DProgId content=3DWord.Document> <meta name=3DGenerator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10"> <meta name=3DOriginator content=3D"Microsoft Word 10"> <link id=3DMain-File rel=3DMain-File href=3D"../Womens-2004-Women.htm"> <![if IE]> <base href=3D"file:///C:\5FA9410E\Womens-2004-Women_files\header.htm" id=3D"webarch_temp_base_tag"> <![endif]> </head> <body lang=3DEN-US link=3Dblue vlink=3Dpurple> <div style=3D'mso-element:footer' id=3Def1> <div style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around;mso-element-anchor-= vertical: paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margin;mso-element-left:right; mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'> <table cellspacing=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 hspace=3D0 vspace=3D0 align=3Dright> <tr> <td valign=3Dtop align=3Dleft style=3D'padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in; padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in'> <p class=3DMsoFooter style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around; mso-element-anchor-vertical:paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margi= n; mso-element-left:right;mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'><!-= -[if supportFields]>PAGE <![endif]--><o:p></o:p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <o:p>&= nbsp;</o:p> </div> <div style=3D'mso-element:footer' id=3Df1> <div style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around;mso-element-anchor-= vertical: paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margin;mso-element-left:right; mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'> <table cellspacing=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 hspace=3D0 vspace=3D0 align=3Dright> <tr> <td valign=3Dtop align=3Dleft style=3D'padding-top:0in;padding-right:0in; padding-bottom:0in;padding-left:0in'> <p class=3DMsoFooter style=3D'mso-element:frame;mso-element-wrap:around; mso-element-anchor-vertical:paragraph;mso-element-anchor-horizontal:margi= n; mso-element-left:right;mso-element-top:.05pt;mso-height-rule:exactly'><!-= -[if supportFields]>PAGE <![endif]-->15<o:p></o:p> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <o:p>&= nbsp;</o:p> </div> </body> </html> ------=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050 Content-Location: file:///C:/5FA9410E/Womens-2004-Women_files/filelist.xml Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/xml; charset="utf-8" <xml xmlns:o=3D"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"> <o:MainFile HRef=3D"../Womens-2004-Women.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"header.htm"/> <o:File HRef=3D"filelist.xml"/> </xml> ------=_NextPart_01C4D6D6.2BEA3050--