Lessons from South Africa: exploring the critical link between rural women and water resource management

In the picture I had of myself, I was always in the kitchen and looking after the children. Even though I am on the water management institution I did not see myself as a leader. Now I do.” (Florence Mavhimbi, participant in the Limpopo region)

How could we, as a Consortium of social development-focused partners, ensure that less educated, socially and economically disempowered, black, rural women participate equally with their male counterparts in water user associations? Over the past two years we worked on this challenge in communities in rural South Africa and proved that a three-pronged methodology of personal transformation and empowerment, understanding gender, and technical knowledge and skills in water management can be successful in the transformation of water user associations

In South Africa water user associations are statutory bodies established under the National Water Act. They are co-operative associations of individual water users that undertake water-related activities for their mutual benefit. The idea of such associations is for communities to pool resources to carry out water-related activities more effectively. However, traditionally they are very male dominated.

We believe that active participation and real decision making by women in water resource management depends on how women perceive themselves in relation to other women and, more importantly, men. We also know that issues of gender intersect with issues of race, language, education, (dis)ability etc. and that these issues are not limited to water only, but exist in society in general. So we addressed gender as a holistic change process, requiring a strong foundation of personal and interpersonal skills and a good knowledge and understanding of various aspects of gender.

Capacity building programme

We developed eight training modules where the personal aspects in the training laid the foundation for the rest of the interventions. The first two modules focus on aspects such as self-esteem and personal goal orientation and were targeted exclusively at women. It provided them with the opportunity to speak up for themselves without being either overshadowed or in competition with men. It allowed them to discover their own value and strength, and to become confident participants in the transformation of their water user associations. It enabled women to engage with men in a more equal manner, without feeling they had to step back, or have less to offer.

Participant from the Limpopo Prince engrossed in an exercise from the first training module that focussed on women's personal journeys. Photo: Alinda Nortje

Module 3 brings male participants together with the women participants. It focuses on gender issues and promotes interdependent gender relationships and inclusive and empowered leadership. Only then are the technical details of water resource management dealt with (module 4). These include the importance of water as a limited resource, the current water situation in South Africa, the impacts of water use, legislation and water management institutions, and the role of women in water decision making.

Modules 5 & 6 concentrate on building interpersonal skills and deal with communication and handling conflict. Module 7 focuses on building a common vision for the respective water user associations, and in the last module (8) the design of mini-projects is facilitated, which provides the participants an opportunity to apply what they have learned.

Throughout the training, linkages between participants as members of water user associations, the community at large, developmental organisations, local government (i.e. municipalities) etc. were actively encouraged as a means to create a wider development network that stretches beyond the boundaries of water resource management.

As part of the capacity building process, the facilitators also used mentoring to explore possible options of dealing with barriers experienced by the water user associations, identifying local resources and potential partnerships, setting actions to reach goals, getting commitment to action plans, and for support and encouragement.

In total, 61 people (31 in Limpopo province, 9 in Kwazulu-Natal province and 21 in the Eastern Cape Province), have completed the training modules.

Challenges

Women (most of them older women) were very interested and committed. Although they had to travel long distance to the venues, and were unfamiliar with this kind of capacity building, and had restricted language skills, traditional roles and responsibilities etc. it did not prevent them from fully participating.

We soon realised that the challenge was not so much to get women to participate, but to get the buy-in, commitment and participation of their male colleagues, showing again that gender transformation is not only about women, but also men. Fewer men participated although the water user associations are dominated by men, and in some cases, the men showed that they have a way travel on gender equality and women’s empowerment. This continues to remain one of the challenges of the project and one for which we have, not yet, found a definitive answer.
Another remaining challenge is to ensure the ongoing, long-term support for the women who have repeatedly declared their deeply felt meaningful and life-changing experience and who feel that they can now effectively and confidently contribute to their respective water user associations.

Even though the capacity building process is still ongoing, the first results are beginning to show. Women are far more confident and willing to participate actively in meetings and discussions. Their mindset changed from "inactive" to "active" and they realise that they can - and must - influence decision-making. They feel that they have something to contribute.