A gender and development strategy for the community management of water supply and sanitation facilities

Women are increasingly recognised as being central to the drawing, purchase and use of water supplies. They are the primary collectors of water and men will only assist in this burden when water sources are distant. Approaches have been pursued to attempts to incorporate women into the development process as they have the main roles to perform (reproductive, productive and community management), and they are constantly juggling these roles, in their daily lives. Integrating women fully into water supply operation, maintenance and community management has been attempted in many projects in developing countries. Issues have emerged common to many of these experiences that must be addressed in formulating an effective gender and development strategy. The issues dealt with in this report are to encourage women to take responsibilities as educators, mechanics, and revenue collectors. It is also mentioning the equality between men and women when it comes to water supply management. The report states that assigning new responsibilities to women must be accompanied by recognised authority and status. Improved water supply management may result in health benefits to the community, but women frequently need to derive economic benefits from their involvement also.