Gendered Participation in Water Governance: Implications for Successful Communitybased Water Management and Women Empowerment

Abstract

This article sought to analyse the gender dimensions in communally managed water schemes in rural Uganda. Taking two rural villages as empirical referents, the study used multi-methods of data collection and a gender-based analysis to interrogate the challenges to equitable access and decision-making in rural-based water schemes. The analysis reveals that, despite the existing policy and legislative regime, access to water for women is severely constrained, and their level of decision-making in communally managed water schemes is remarkably low. The article holds that women’s participation is critical for the much-needed collective action towards community-based water governance, gender equity, and empowerment. Consequently, the barriers to sustainable water access and effective women’s participation can be addressed through significant investments in systematic water institutional reforms, targeted capacity-building initiatives, and plugging existing policy monitoring and implementation gaps at all levels. There is a need to address the policy reality gap regarding ownership of productive resources for women as a key strand towards addressing the equity challenges at different levels of water governance.