Message 22: Iskandar Abdullaev

Iskandar Abdullaev’s response address the issue of institutional exclusion of women and gender concerns in water management. This also includes their access to valuable services such as credit, and there is a link between this and the extent to which women are over represented in the lower skilled, labour intensive work in agriculture. Iskander illustrates with examples from Central Asia.

1. Why is it important to mainstream a gender perspective in agricultural water management? (A maximum of 3 points preferably with supporting cases or examples)

The institutional causes of the global water crisis include the gender biased policies and practices which are leading to the disconnection of women from water resources planning and management. In spite of the fact that women play a key role in the provision, management and conservation of water resources, their participation in the water management is limited due to the men dominant policies. The processes of decentralization in water management, accelerated in the last decade in Central Asia, after collapse of Former Soviet Union (FSU) can bee seen as area of intervention for improving the gender policies in water. The transformation of the on-farm water management to the Water Users Associations (WUAs) is wide spread form of water management decentralization in the region. Therefore building the capacity of the emerging WUA leaders on participatory water management, gender inclusion are crucial elements of successful transformation of water management.

2. What are the real issues that challenge the integration of gender concerns into water management and agriculture? (3 points with evidence-supporting cases and examples)

One of the most sensitive issues when speaking of the gender balance is the division of labour in a household between women and men. The women engaged in low-paid jobs or those related to keeping the house. In Central Asia traditions assign local women a special place as a homemaker and specific daily chores to be performed exclusively by them. There are some indications suggesting that women are behind most financial decisions in the Central Asian families. Man in 74% of cases makes definitive decisions on family budget distribution (GWP CACEANA & SIC ICWC. 2004). A lack of women access to financial resources both internally (family) and externally (credits) considerably limits their chances to access land and water as well as hampers their overall productivity. It is important to underline that women normally perform labor intensive, low paid and secondary jobs in agriculture.

In principle, at the on-farm level water should be distributed based on water use plans. However, no instruments to implement such water use plans are in place. Watercourse canals either lack measuring devices or clear daily recording procedures for water distribution. Originally, water use plans are prepared only for tertiary distributary canals, while at the watercourse level water are distributed based on users’ requests. However, due to a huge number of such requests made in the same time, mirabs have time and again failed to set up a good order. As a result almost all the canal outlets normally stay open with the water constantly flowing into the fields. While, the smaller fields are filled quickly with extra water draining into the drainage network, the plots that are bigger in size never really get enough water during the irrigation season. Given such a situation, women are more likely to be affected by unequal water distribution than man at the on-farm level (Abdullaev and Ul Hassan.2004). This happens because women lack access to information regarding water distribution thus giving men more opportunities (social and legal) to influence the decision-making process at the WUA level.

3. Why is gender not mainstreamed in water management in agriculture? (3 points with evidence)

The rural areas in Central Asia are overwhelmingly male societies with some unwritten taboos and cultural norms restricting women’s participation in public life. Particularly it is strongly felt in Tajikistan, in a much lesser extent in Kyrgyzstan and somewhat moderately strong in Uzbekistan. To extirpate gender stereotypes in a society, first of all, it is necessary to build proper gender awareness among both women and men

Iskandar Abdullaev

Researcher, Water Management Specialist,

International Water Management Institute

Central Asia Office

Apartment No. 123, Murtazaeva 6

Tashkent, 700000

UZBEKISTAN

Phone: 998-71-1370445

Fax: 998-71-1370317

E-mail: i.abdullaev@cgiar.org