Women, water and security
Water is an essential resource for our well-being and livelihoods. In Central Asia and Afghanistan it is mostly women who collect water for household use, cooking, and family hygiene. Furthermore, since many Central Asian men from rural areas migrate to work abroad, women have also taken over more farming responsibilities. Despite being major water users, women still have little influence on the major decisions on how this precious resource is governed, be it at the local, national or trans-boundary levels.
“Women are much more active than men in activities related to water,” says Matluba Rajabalieva, Chairperson of the Garm Development Centre, a Tajikstan-based NGO which has been supported by the OSCE since 2005 for its work in promoting women and girls’ empowerment in communities. “Women look for potable water and do the hard work of fetching it and returning to their villages carrying filled cans on their backs.”
The prevalence of conservative values in many societies means that women are often side-lined by social stereotypes and behaviour that put them at the bottom of the patriarchal structure. This is a waste of both human and natural resources, according to Miriam Feilberg, Director of the Danish Women’s Water Fund. “If everyone had an opportunity to contribute and express their needs and priorities, decisions would better reflect and target the needs of both men and women. As a result, the provision and use of water resources would be more efficient,” she says.
Connecting water users and decision makers
Ensuring that women and men equally take part in decision-making processes related to water management is an area which has brought together the activities of the OSCE Gender Section and the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA).
In July 2015, the OSCE co-operated with the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in leading a three-day regional training workshop in Almaty on gender mainstreaming and conflict resolution in water governance. More than 30 water professionals from state agencies, NGOs, research institutes, water users associations, and donor organizations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan, learned about the importance of applying a gender perspective and involving women in water management.
Zhyldyz Ysmanova, a gender expert at the Central Asian Alliance on Water (CAAW), shared the experience of Kyrgyzstan, where more than half of the country’s 633 water associations have a gender-balanced board.
When board members are made up of only men, they do not take into account the needs of the household. Women are much more informed about water needs in the community and they know exactly where the next pipe should be built to make their lives easier.
Thirteen years ago, when CAAW started working in 35 rural settlements in southern Kyrgyzstan, most of the local water committees deciding on the distribution of water between households and farms and water tariffs were staffed by men. At that time, households were receiving water for just a couple of hours a day.
Since then, in many areas, water provisions to families have increased to six hours a day and in some villages it is being supplied all day. Ysmanova says this is down to the more active participation of women in water committees. In four out of the 35 villages where CAAW works the share of female members has reached 70 per cent, whereas in other settlements women now constitute half of the members.
The gap between water managers and users could be bridged further by educating women so that they are encouraged to get involved in technical and managerial roles relating to water management. “Only then can female voices at the community level be better heard and their needs incorporated into local and national water planning,” says Mohammad Qaasim Yahya, the head of water engineering department at the Balkh University, in northern Afghanistan.
Benefits of gender-balanced water management
Gender mainstreaming in water governance contributes to stability and security as it can lead to more effective policies and works to reduce social imbalances and tension. When women and men equally decide on how to use water, decisions are better targeted and more representative of the needs of the entire population.
An inclusive approach to water management issues also increases transparency and can reduce corruption.
As the primary caregivers both for children and the elderly, women have a better understanding of how a lack of water can affect the most vulnerable in the society, says Ysmanova. “Women therefore tend to be less corrupt and better at collecting fees for water use at the community level.”
Water and security
As part of its comprehensive approach to security, the OSCE supports its participating States to jointly manage water resources in a sustainable way.
In Central Asia, the link between water and security is particularly visible, as water is a strategic resource for national development and a decisive factor for regional security. Climate change is creating additional pressure on water and other resources in this region with a rapidly growing population.
Women can also make a difference at the national level as well as the local and community level. Indira Akbozova leads Kazakhstan’s team in the Kazakh-Kyrgyz Chu-Talas Basin Commission. The Commission is one of the few examples of successful water co-operation in Central Asia and has been supported by the OSCE since its establishment in 2006.
Akbozova said that from her experience, including women, who provide their insights on the importance of water access from the point of view of the most vulnerable in the society, makes negotiating teams more representative.
Gender-sensitive policies therefore contribute to fair sharing of water and maximize social and economic benefits for the community as a whole. It also strengthens the contributions of women to a healthier environment. Addressing water governance and its importance for security and stability in the OSCE area is one of the priorities of the 2015 Serbian Chairmanship. The 2015 Economic and Environmental Forum process which is dedicated to this topic also enables discussions on issues related to gender and water governance.
The OSCE will continue its activities to further promote women and men’s equal participation in water management.