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Gender and social inclusion approach in watershed projects in Parasai-Sindh watershed, India
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Gender and social inclusion approach in watershed projects in Parasai-Sindh watershed, India

  1. About ICRISAT: www.icrisat.org ICRISAT’s scientific information: http://EXPLOREit.icrisat.org Apr 2019 Gender and social inclusion approach in watershed projects in Parasai-Sindh watershed, India Introduction Adoption of innovations increasingly involves an understanding of existing cultural and social norms in a given context. However, such evidence is limited or lacking, especially for watershed projects. The ICRISAT-CAFRI community watershed project in Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh state in India highlights the challenges in and the opportunities to empower communities by enhancing awareness of and sensitivity to gender and social norms. Padmaja R1 , Kavitha K1 , Stephenie Leder2 , Ramesh Singh3 and Anthony Whitbread1 1 International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics 2 Consultant, CRP-WLE 3 Central Agro-forestry Research Institute Interacting with women in one of the study villages. Haweli, the traditional water harvesting structure in village Parasai. Objectives and Methodology ▪▪ Aim: To increase drought resilience of farming communities through groundwater recharge and agroforestry interventions. ▪▪ Pilot sites: 3 villages in Bundelkhand region (Parasai, Chhatpur and Bachauni) covering 1250 ha and with a population of 210 households (1068 male and 850 female members). ▪▪ Watershed interventions implemented during 2011 -2014: Building check dams; restoring existing structures, among others. ▪▪ Post intervention, data was generated through quantitative and qualitative social analysis tools to understand their benefits to women, men, and the community. ▪▪ Analysis involved 560 individuals in the three villages plus a control village. ▪▪ 33 semi-structured interviews and Focus Group discussions (FGDs) conducted. ▪▪ The Gender in Irrigation Learning and Improvement Tool (GILIT) by the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), piloted by IWMI, was implemented as part of the post- intervention data collection. A check dam in Bachhauni village. Findings Gender norms operate through social structures that keep hierarchies in place ▪▪ Labor division in agricultural activities in the villages is driven by gender and social norms ▪▪ Compared to women from upper castes, those from the Scheduled Castes (socially marginalized groups) have greater mobility and are subject to fewer strict norms. ▪▪ Status quo of hierarchies is primarily due to norms that operate through the social structure itself. Gender equality = Land for boys, bund for girls Based on a felt need by the men and women during quantitative and qualitative engagements with them, teak wood saplings were provided to be grown on field bunds. The lands/ fields were meant for the boys. Our data suggests that these teak wood trees would be later sold to pay for the dowry of girls. Important insights ▪▪ Well intended interventions targeted at supporting women based on their stated need for economic support could perpetuate gender relations of dependence. ▪▪ Focusing on economic empowerment alone sweeps aside the need for social change which could make women more self-reliant. ▪▪ Going beyond the initial interventions can help develop gender-sensitive project designs in the future. Conclusions ▪▪ Fusing social and technical interventions can increase women’s awareness, and their access to and decision making over resources. ▪▪ Develop evolving mechanisms that empower communities (men and women) to participate in decision making at various levels and for different purposes. ▪▪ When implementing watershed projects in highly patriarchical contexts as in the Bundelkhand region, behavior change must be recognized as an important outcome. ▪▪ Sensitization to strengthen systematic and gender-sensitive institution building, social engagement, and capacity development.
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