Abstract
The influence of gender in participatory irrigation management reforms has been the subject of significant research in the past. Whilst there is some understanding of what hinders women and marginalized groups from participating in irrigation management, there is limited understanding of how male and female farmers vary in their perceptions on the effectiveness of participation in irrigation affairs. There is also limited understanding around the interaction on gender and the overall success of participatory irrigation management programs. Based on the information obtained from 128 households surveyed through separate male and female questionnaires in Pakistan in 2018 (Sindh and Punjab provinces), we studied the country’s experience in engaging gender into its participatory irrigation management program. We found there was a significant difference in participatory irrigation management perceptions across both gender and locational jurisdiction. Overall, women generally perceive the performance and impact of farmer organizations to be significantly less effective than men. Our study emphasizes the importance of putting findings in a historical context to inform the theory, policy, and practice of mainstreaming gender into irrigation management.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundFor many developing countries of Asia and Africa, where a majority of the population is engaged in agricultural production, the participation of women in agricultural activities is an important area of development studies
This paper explores the extent to which these assumptions hold in the policy and legislative landscape in Pakistan where the world’s largest gravity-driven irrigation system operates from the Indus River
Researchers are increasingly revealing the of layers of economic status, religiosity, culture, and politics of women’s work and there are some indications that the situation may be changing slowly [71]
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundFor many developing countries of Asia and Africa, where a majority of the population is engaged in agricultural production, the participation of women in agricultural activities is an important area of development studies. From the 1980s onwards, there has been research conducted on the merits of participatory irrigation management [2,3], and the literature has sought to highlight the issues of women’s participation in irrigation management in particular [4,5,6,7]. These influential studies highlighted the lack of women’s access to irrigation but critically evaluated the disciplinary biases, socio-cultural issues, and political economy and described the irrigation sector as a highly technical male domain that systematically nullifies women’s participation.
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