Asia and the Pacific - Regional perspectives.

 

The Asia–Pacific region is home to 4.7 billion people, or around 60% of the world’s population. It exhibits significant cultural, socioeconomic and environmental diversity, which shapes how people access, manage and benefit from natural resources, including water. Although gender dynamics vary across contexts, women and girls play a vital role in managing domestic and productivewater resources. Yet they face gender-specific water challenges across the region. These include: limited and unequal access; risks to health, safety, education, and economic and livelihood opportunities; under-representation in water governance; and increasing threats from climate change. Highlighting such interlinkages is key, as the region is not on track to achieve any of the SDGs by 2030.

 A gender-responsive water future for the region could be achieved through a transformative approach that includes bottom-up and top-down policy processes to mainstream gender in policy-making, and to shift mindsets and social norms.

The region includes some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, such as the Pacific, and South, Southwest and Southeast Asia, where women and girls may be disproportionately affected by climate impacts. Many of the deaths in climate-related water disasters have been women. For example, the percentages of women in total mortality rates were: 61% for Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, 70–80% for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in various villages in India and Indonesia, and 91% for the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh. Such heightened mortality rates are partly because women are more likely to stay behind to look after children and relatives due to social norms, and are less equipped with skills such as swimming and climbing that are disproportionally taught to boys. Floods and droughts have led to an increase in domestic care burdens and GBV, thus exacerbating gendered risks and threats. Despite women comprising more than half of the labour force in agrifood systems in subregions across Asia, in some Asian countries, women hold less than 20% of the agricultural land. When coupled with the consequences of climate change, such gendered economic inequalities and dependencies may be intensified. In Asian countries where child marriage is still socioculturally prevalent, an increase in aridity has been identified as a factor correlating with a higher rate of girls being married under the age of 18 (Figure 7.3). Small island developing states (SIDS) in Asia and the Pacific have experienced acute shortages of drinking water and irrigation due to increased water usage coupled with climate change impacts such as prolonged droughts, extreme precipitation events and sea-level rise. In addition, as a result of sea-level rise and groundwater overdraft, saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers is further exacerbating water scarcity across the region. In Bangladesh, a country where more than 44 million people live in coastal areas, women often have to walk long distances to collect vital fresh water for their families, due to salinized groundwater. They may also be exposed to serious gender-specific health risks. For example, the consumption of saline groundwater has been linked to a much higher chance of suffering from hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, or the use of saline groundwater for washing sanitary towels and bathing can strongly increase the chance of contracting gynaecological infections.

In Nepal, Practical Action has adopted a Missing Voices Approach. This has promoted the active inclusion of women and other at-risk and marginalized groups in disaster risk reduction strategies and early warning systems planning. Viet Nam has established a sex-, age- and disability-disaggregated data framework, which has enhanced data monitoring to provide insights into the relationship between vulnerability and disasters, including the impacts of water-related risks on women and girls in vulnerable communities. In Fiji, Women’s Weather Watch has used community radio to provide women with timely weather updates and disaster preparedness and awareness information, positioning them as first responders to hazards such as floods . Across the region, several initiatives have aimed to empower women in addressing climate-related water risks and strengthening resilience. In Bangladesh, the Reducing Vulnerability of Women Affected by Climate Change through Viable Livelihood Options project, initiated by Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, focuses on empowering women to lead climate adaptation initiatives in their communities, including training on sustainable agricultural practices and disaster preparedness. In India, women farmers have been trained to use and maintain the Bhungroo system, which artificially recharges aquifers to supply water for irrigation during periods of drought. It has been replicated in other parts of Asia and in Africa based on the sourcing of local materials and the personal involvement of the end users in construction and maintenance. In Pakistan, the FAO Transforming the Indus Basin with Climate Resilient Agriculture and Water Management project foresees a 10% quota for female technicians in the traditionally male-dominated field of agriculture and WRM. It is also providing training on climate-resilient agriculture and on-farm water management practices, directly or indirectly, to 48,000 women and youth by establishing nearly 1,000 farmer field schools and women open schools between 2020 and 2026. Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan have also followed the call of the Paris Agreement for gender-responsive climate adaptation and have subsequently developed climate change gender action plans with large emphases on water.

Although significant progress has been made in WASH in the Asia–Pacific region, challenges remain in rural areas and informal settlements, with disproportionate impacts on women and girls. The number of women and girls drinking water from unimproved surface water sources in Central Asia was 107 million in 2000; this subsequently decreased to 61 million in 2015 and to 31 million in 2022. In East and Southeast Asia, the number reduced from 188 million in 2000 to 73 million in 2015 and then 30 million in 2022. However, in Pacific SIDS, the corresponding number of women and girls remained at 2 million from 2000 to 2015, and then increased to 3 million in 2022. 

By 2018, across the region, women were reported to spend 4.1 times more time than men on unpaid care and domestic work, primarily due to traditional gender and social norms. Responsibilities such as cooking, cleaning and caring for the sick – each demanding substantial water use – often fall on women. In Central, South and Southwest Asia, 24% of the population relies on off-premises water collection and over two-thirds of the time, women and adolescent girls collect water. Across several countries in the Asia–Pacific region, women and girls walk further and spend more time collecting water than their male counterparts (Figure 7.4). This may prevent girls from attending school and restrict women’s ability to engage in other productive activities, in addition to putting them at danger of assault and harassment. Furthermore, a 2016 metaanalysis found a quarter of girls in India did not attend school during menstruation, a statistic that can possibly be attributed to a lack of adequate toilets. However, an increase in adequate and sex-specific toilets in schools led to a substantial increase in the enrolment of pubescentaged girls. There have been various projects and approaches in the region aimed at addressing gendered disparities in WASH. In Timor-Leste, coupling infrastructure investments with community engagement through facilitating discussions on WASH, gender roles and power dynamics has led to improved sanitation practices and greater participation of women. This applied to WRM, and also to acquiring leadership roles in the community.

 In Bangladesh, the Rural Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene for Human Capital Development Project has enabled women to access microfinance loans and sanitation grants to improve household WASH facilities. For example, it provided financial resources to 150 women entrepreneurs to help them better market and sell soaps, disinfectants and menstrual hygiene products directly to households, ensuring better access for those hesitant to purchase them in public markets. Similarly, in Cambodia, the Water for Women Fund, SHE Investments and International Development Enterprises organized gender-focused entrepreneurship incubators, supporting female latrine business owners. In the Philippines, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has implemented a gender-responsive project aimed at reducing the unpaid burden disproportionately carried by women and girls. The project led to the drafting of a provincial care ordinance. This aimed to decrease time spent on domestic unpaid work, especially in remote or disadvantaged areas by committing the provincial government to invest in improved water infrastructure, such as jet pumps and water systems, and other time- and labour-saving equipment such as washing machines and stoves. 

Evidence has shown mainstreaming gender and including women in water supply projects and policies can improve effectiveness, sustainability and equitable sharing of benefits. Women – including those from Indigenous and local communities – possess expertise and traditional knowledge as well as unique experiences, ideas and voices that are vital for shaping water resources policies, programmes, financing allocations and international dialogue. Furthermore, including women is an opportunity for a project or policy to better reflect local and context-specific gender realities, roles and decision-making dynamics within communities. Case studies in the Asia–Pacific region have shown that not recognizing or addressing these different localized gender dynamics has strongly impeded progress on general and water-related development projects. Nevertheless, women have remained highly under-represented in decision-making bodies, especially at the community and regional levels. Meaningful gender inclusion is a slow, multisectoral and multilevel process of social transformation, requiring more than individual women’s leadership. It also necessitates the empowering of women’s civil society to meaningfully engage with decision-makers, practitioners, men and boys. Strengthening community women’s groups can help to ensure participation is not ‘tokenistic’ but is embedded in action partnerships that sustain gender-sensitive solutions. Gathering sex-disaggregated data is necessary for tracking women’s representation in water governance, and to enable effective governance outputs that tackle gender-specific inequalities and vulnerabilities through gender-responsive policies and projects. Without such data, the unique challenges faced by women and marginalized groups can remain invisible. However, the Asia–Pacific region has struggled with collecting sex-disaggregated data. For example, even though there are sufficient data for most of the SDG 6 indicators, sex-disaggregated data are largely absent or are collected in a fragmented and uncoordinated way across the region. Some good examples to strengthen gender-responsive water resources governance have emerged. In the Philippines, the 2009 Magna Carta of Women mandated that women make up 40% of development councils, which oversee planning for WASH, and integrated water resources management(IWRM). In addition, since 1995, government agencies and departments at all levels must have reserved at least 5% of their budget to gender- and development related programme. Similarly, in Vanuatu, the 2016 amendment to the Water Resources ManagementAct required 40% female representation in all rural water resources committees, with enforcement ensured through committee registration. Australia and some Pacific SIDS have seen some strong Indigenous women’s leadership in water governance that has promoted the integration of traditional knowledge in managing water resources. In Central Asia and Afghanistan, the Women, Water Management and Conflict Prevention project has empowered female water professionals by providing support to career development and networking activities. It has also promoted exchange of experiences and mutual learning for increased awareness on gender-sensitive water governance and water diplomacy. In India, Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan launched the Jal Saheli Abhiyan campaign in the droughtprone Bundelkhand region. The initiative engaged women as water stewards and community leaders by training them in traditional and sustainable methods to restore ponds and wells and to check dams for groundwater recharge. Women have become actively involved in developing village water plans and participating in village water councils.

Across the region, projects and initiatives have emerged to improve the collection of sex-disaggregated data. In the Pacific, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Asian Development Bank launched a project aiming to make future water policies and projects more gender inclusive. One of its key measures was to improve the availability of sex-aggregated data in 14 island states in the Pacific. Such data were previously very sparse. In Southeast Asia, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and UN Women launched the ASEAN South-South and Triangular Cooperation Group on Gender Statistics for Tracking Progress towards the SDGs and Beyond in 2023. Through collaboration and knowledge-sharing, this mechanism aimed to boost gender data production and use, supporting gender-responsive implementation of the ASEANCommunity Vision 2025 and SDG monitoring. It strengthened ASEAN’s ongoing efforts – such as publishing the ASEAN Gender Outlook – to highlight gender disparities and guide policy action regarding the SDGs.

Ensuring gender equality in water access, governance and management is a matter of social justice and also a prerequisite for sustainable development and climate resilience. Addressing the gender- and water-related challenges in Asia and the Pacific requires transformative changes in mindsets, social norms, data, policy and investment. Examples from across the region show how policymakers and practitioners can strengthen water governance by enhancing gender-responsive approaches, inclusive decision-making and targeted interventions recognizing women’s and girls’ key roles as agents of change. Overall, neither SDG 5 nor SDG 6 can be achieved without the other. By fostering gender-responsive water governance, the Asia–Pacific region may be able to secure a more just, sustainable and water-secure future.