Women’s Participation in Local Water Governance: Understanding Institutional Contradictions

Abstract

The participation of women in local water governance is currently envisaged as necessary for achieving sustainable management of water resources. Towards this end, institutions are being created in many developing countries enabling the participation of local people in the use and management of resources. How effective is the participation of women as makers and shapers within local water governance institutions—and how does their participation translate into benefits for their communities? How realistic is this participatory strategy in the traditional rural contexts of the developing world? Based on empirical evidence from rural India, where women do not constitute a homogenous group, this article seeks to explore how social and power differences among them thwart the beneficial effects of water governance in communities. The findings underscore the need to develop a holistic understanding of the institutional factors that differentiate among women and the implications of these on mechanisms of water governance put in place at the local level.