In Khoksar Parbaha village, in the Terai region of Nepal, Musandi is trying to haggle over the price of fertilizer with a middleman. She feels uncomfortable doing this.

“Since my husband left to look for work in Delhi, I have to deal with many “man” things for the farm. People listen more to my husband; he apply pressure so we get water for the fields on time, or negotiate for the right inputs. For a woman, it is not easy.”

The rapid economic and social changes in remote, rural areas of the Eastern Gangetic Plains, like the Terai region, have fuelled a fast out-migration of young males towards the cities, resulting in an aging and feminizing of agriculture. Unfortunately, this ‘feminization’ has not led to significant changes in gender relations regarding access to and control over water, land and farming, as made evident by Musandi’s situation.

“Addressing gender inequalities is certainly one of the most complex and challenging questions in the development arena. It involves changing mindsets and transforming power dynamics, which are deeply rooted in local social norms,” explains Dr. Nicoline de Haan, lead of the Gender, Poverty and Institutions research theme for the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE).

Migration matters

In Asia alone, nearly one billion people are on the move. Because migration is an important issue, a conference held in Delhi in November 2015 explored the consequences of out-migration on the families and communities left behind by male migrant workers. In large parts of South Asia, a majority of families pursue a dual livelihood strategy: farming in the rainy season, often under highly unfavorable conditions; and low-wage migrant labor in Indian cities during the dry season. Remittances are not enough to lift families out of poverty and are often not invested in agriculture. For the women who are left behind, poor access to irrigation water, extension services or inputs makes farming very challenging.

IWMI.

The conference attracted great interest from development organizations and policy makers. New research is being explored to improve the access of female-headed households to land and other productive means. For example, groups of landless women could sign a joint lease on a piece of land and farm it as a collective, making larger irrigation investments more feasible.

Accounting for gender in policy and practice

Although governments and development organizations have had gender mainstreaming on the agenda for decades, there is often a gap between policy/strategy narratives and true impact on the ground.

The Poverty Squares and Gender Circles project assessed six development programmes in three countries in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (Nepal Terai, North Bengal in India and North Bangladesh), or the infamous “poverty square.” The assessment found that initiatives had failed to reach the most vulnerable and did not address or act on deeply rooted social inequalities.

For women like Musandi in Khoksar Parbaha, speaking out in public spaces could lead to social opposition from the community. When her husband is absent, a brother or male in-law would be expected to speak for her, maintaining gender divisions of labor, knowledge and skills.

Many institutions, like the strategic irrigation water organizations, remain predominantly controlled by outspoken wealthy men who have the last say on how natural resources are to be managed. In a major water management publication, WLE research demonstrates that existing water governance structures lack mechanisms that make them accountable to poor and vulnerable water users on the ground, most importantly women.

To bring about real change, simplified measures such as setting quotas for women’s participation in decision-making committees (like water user associations) are not enough to address underlying power differences. Involvement does not mean true empowerment.

In Africa, in Ghana’s Upper East Region, a review of two prominent programmes in Bawku West and Bongo districts showed that there is a disconnect between how gender is perceived at the national policy level and women’s actual aspirations at local level. Many women aspire to stop subsistence farming and participate in off-farm activities, like processing and trading. As such, they are looking for access to financial services, while donors and national government are still focused on land rights, which may not be the most alienating factor.

Bringing about real change and empowerment

WLE researchers have facilitated training in villages of the Eastern Gangetic Plains, like Khoksar Parbaha, where male, female and mixed groups discussed differentiated gender roles in the farming and domestic sphere. Inversed role playing is one technique used in these trainings, and helps women strengthen their bargaining skills while allowing men to realize the constraints women face when farming on their own.

“Critical awareness of gender divisions is the first step towards women’s empowerment” explains Stephanie Leder, a gender and poverty specialist from WLE and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). “To make a real difference on the ground, trust and true participation are crucial. We have a lot to learn from these women and men, so we can adjust our interventions according to their reality.”

Participatory gender training for farmers in the Eastern Gangetic Plains.

Stephanie Leder/IWMI.

A good understanding of the differentiated access to natural resources, like water for irrigation between men and women, can lead to better designed development initiatives. The project, Giving Latecomers a Head Start in the Volta Basin, has demonstrated that small reservoirs with built-in canals are the most functional for women, and that women often benefit more from informal schemes.
Increased access to knowledge and skills builds women’s self-esteem and social position. Collective women's initiatives, like setting up women cooperatives or saving groups, are good vehicles to voice out women’s demand for better land and water access.

Back in Khoksar, things are moving in the right direction. The 24 members of a community forest group, which includes 16 men, have just elected Musandi as their leader, after the previous male leader had misused the collective’s savings. The men are confident they have made the right choice: “Musandi is our Ministry; she knows how to save and manage the group’s money.”

Acknowledgments

• A gender-sensitive approach to dry season irrigation: Piloting a participatory gender training for farmers in Saptari; Lead Center: IWMI; donor: ACIAR
• Migration matters, a regional dialogue on the impact of rural migration on women, New Delhi, November 2015
• Giving Latecomers a Head Start project is part of the WLE Volta and Niger regional program and is led by the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute, the University for Development Studies and the department of Women in Agricultural Development from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
• G7: Poverty squares and gender circles: unravelling agriculture gaps, challenges and opportunities in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (Bangladesh, India, Nepal); partners: International Water Management Institute, Nepal Madhesh Foundation, Bangladesh Agricultural University, North Bengal University, South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies, Katalyst