Gender mainstreaming in a water intervention : women's experiences in Sre Chea Commune in rural Cambodia

Abstract

Water is an essential need for human well-being and development. It shapes lives and livelihoods especially for people with limited access to water. In developing countries, water-related activities often fall on the responsibility of women, taking up hours of their daily work. Though women’s role in household water management is central, their views are habitually left out in the design and implementation of water projects and interventions. Gender mainstreaming has gained growing emphasis on the development agenda. It aims to integrate the gender perspective in any planned action and include women as active agents in development projects. Critics claim that effects of the policy emphasis remain weak, as gender issues tend to be reduced into a technicality, rather than genuinely challenging the prevailing power hierarchies and division of labor. Also, the ways of understanding the concept of gender and how it is interconnected with other levels of social division reflect in the effects that a water intervention has on a local community. To understand the local realities, this study brings women’s experiences into the spotlight by means of a case study, and contemplates the policy of gender mainstreaming from their perspective.

This case study focuses on a water project in rural Cambodia, and strives to reveal experiences and perspectives of the local women in the Sre Chea Chheung Khan Commune. The study examines firstly how the women have participated in the planning and implementation of the water supply project, and secondly what changes there has been in the everyday lives of the women due to the water supply system. The main data comprises of thirteen individual interviews with local women. In addition, secondary data includes two group interviews and two individual interviews with the village chief and the non-governmental organization, RainWater Cambodia (RWC) that was responsible for carrying out the project. All the interviews except for the RWC were conducted with an interpreter. The study draws on ethnographic methodology and feminist perspective, the latter being central in sensitizing to imparting thoughts and experiences of the local women. To bring out the voice of the interviewees, the data is analyzed using inductive content analysis. The theoretical framework of strategic and practical gender needs is applied in the discussion.

The women’s participation in the project remained nominal, despite of their strong interest in the commune's development issues. There are different levels of barriers for women’s participation. Responsibilities within the household, such as child-rearing, pose challenges for women to engage in project activities. More importantly, women do not necessarily recognize the value of their knowledge in the planning and therefore do not pursue an active role in the decision-making. Both the project background documents and the women see the water project foremost contributing to women’s practical gender needs, facilitating their daily practices. High expectations are placed for the new water technology facilitating everyday routines, yet the benefits are vulnerable when shortcomings occur in the provision of water. The ways how a water technology embeds to local lives are varied, as are the changes it brings to the women’s daily lives.

Striving for the gender mainstreaming goals requires understanding on the prevailing gender relations and challenging the assumed homogeneity of women or men. Working on micro scale, there are no universal frameworks to reach sustainable water projects or to mainstream gender, which is why the locals must be in the center of defining the local needs. In project planning, addressing strategic needs in addition to the practical ones is central, not only to meet the equality goals that gender mainstreaming emphasizes, but also to efficiently fulfill practical needs. Sustainable and equitable solutions are built bottom-up, giving space to different kinds of knowledge and marginalized views. Development practitioners need to acknowledge the importance of meaningful participation and understand both technical and social features that water projects entail. Sustainably executed water projects require critical reflection from the planner’s side, manifold expertise and adequate resources.