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5. Gender and Water in India: A Review

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Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of key issues in the area of gender and water. It gives an overview of different debates around women and environment and shows how these have shaped the discourse and practice around gender and water. The chapter then goes on to discuss the reforms in the water sector at the global level and how this has impacted the discussions around gender and water. A comprehensive review of literature is done in the context of India which covers the various writings and actions in the area of gender and water. The review specifically looks at gender and equity issues in the areas of rivers, dams and displacement, water for production and domestic water.
The chapter argues for going beyond the politics of representation and developing new agendas and creative forms of engagement with people’s movements- more specifically women’s movements, farmers movements and unions working on the question of growing informalisation of the economy, greater accumulation of capital, increasing injustices and disparities in everyday living- to see the linkages between land, water, rivers, natural resources and livelihoods.

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Footnotes
1
The four principles Principle 1: Fresh water is a finite and vulnerable resource, essential to sustain life, development and the environment.
Principle 2: Water development and management should be based on a participatory approach, involving users, planners and policy-makers at all levels.
Principle 3: Women play a central part in the provision, management and safeguarding of water.
Principle 4: Water has an economic value in all its competing uses and should be recognized as an economic good.
 
2
Details of how the negotiations were worked out can be found in Looking back … in flowing upstream.
 
3
Madhya Pradesh PIM Act includes spouses of landowners and holders to become members.
 
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Metadata
Title
Gender and Water in India: A Review
Author
Seema Kulkarni
Copyright Year
2016
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25184-4_5