Chapter 7 - Women's Participation in a Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project: A Case Study in Jorong Kampung Baru, Nagari Gantung Ciri, Kubung Subdistrict, Solok, West Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

The Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) project under the Water Supply and Sanitation for Low Income Communities (WSSLIC) project in Jorong Kampung Baru, Kubung Subdistrict, Solok, has been analyzed in this research. The focus of this research is community participation in the project with an emphasis on equal participation between men and women in the decision-making process, implementation, operation and maintenance, and monitoring and evaluation. The study also explored the factors that influence community participation equally or unequally in the project in relation to project sustainability. There are four interrelated factors discussed; namely, the formal legal system (policy), institutional arrangements (project rules), sociocultural attitudes, and ethics class and religious beliefs and practices. The chapter offers important lessons for the design and implementation of water supply and sanitation programs. It concludes that the sustainability of the project in the next 5 or 10 years is threatened because women were not effectively involved in the project. Therefore, involving both men and women effectively in the project phases needs to be emphasized and implemented in the achievement of project sustainability. Many factors influence women not to participate equally as well as men. The study stresses the urgent need to integrate a gender perspective in the project design and to formulate clear implementation rules in the implementation of the project. The social condition of the community in related places needs to be considered, particularly the educational and cultural aspects besides the other three factors.