Women''s roles : a policy overview

The article starts highligthing the concerns about the state of water resources in the world both in urban and rural areas. Environmental degradation affects mainly women and it is seen as a factor that restricts the ability of women to overcome poverty. Consequently, actions designed to conserve natural resources and rehabilitate degraded environments can give women back their control over scarce resources. However, women face constraints in achieving full integration and participation in water resources management such as lack of education/training, lack of participation in planning, lack of information and awareness raising methodologies and lack of financial means and technical choice.

Besides policy makers, planners and project managers lack infromation and the capacity to plan for the promotion of women’s participation. The old water resources management models also need to be modified. Considering that women are central to all aspects of water management, sanitation, and personal and household hygiene, the author states that women’s roles in influencing family hygiene behaviour patterns are crucial. But for this it is needed a structural and attitudinal change in institutions including new integrated management systems in human, financial and natural resources. For instance, more attention should be given to the incorporation of women in training, research and capacity building programmes; and capacities build to identify and modify gender sensitive indicators. Women are part of the solution for the water resources management-environmental sanitation-sustainable development relationship.