Gender Equity

The participation of half of the population in water management and the promotion of a gender approach in programmes is one of Spanish Cooperation’s priority objectives. In practice, this translates to the inclusion of specific indicators, the implementation of training activities for women through schools for women leaders or technical training, or the measurement of women’s participation in community water boards.

Specific actions

In addition to the day-to-day and cross-cutting work to promote gender equality in the FCAS, certain actions in 2020 need to be highlighted:

Ecuador
Within the framework of the “Water and Sanitation Programme in dispersed rural communities in Portoviejo Canton, Manabí Province”, gender equity is a priority. Although the programme is still in its early stages and the pace of implementation has been affected by the pandemic, in 2020 several days were held to commemorate Rural Women’s Day and the day for the elimination of violence against women, reinforcing the role of women in water management.

Due to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the Women’s Community Training School that was planned for November and December 2020 was postponed until 2021.
Haití
In 2020, a consultancy was initiated to analyse the role of women in the field of water, hygiene and sanitation in two intervention areas (one urban -Aquin- and one rural -Pilate-) which will serve as the basis for a future gender action plan.
Honduras
Within the last programmes initiated in the country (HND-018-B and HND-019-B), during the year 2020 operational plans were approved and a gender action plan began to be designed in which the results and activities, indicators, budget and alliances for including the gender approach in the programmes could be established in greater detail.

These plans are based on the strategic guidelines that are followed and developed in the Water Fund for the inclusion of gender in water and sanitation programmes, and are implemented by management teams, with the support of the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID).
Guatemala

In the water and sanitation programme with a focus on the basin in the upper part of the Cuilco river sub-basin, GTM-014-B, implemented by the Association for the Integral Development of Municipalities of the Altiplano Marquense (ADIMAM), several relevant activities were carried out.

On the one hand, in several villages in the municipality of San Marcos, the knowledge of women leaders in these communities was strengthened through workshops on leadership, women’s empowerment focused on water and sanitation, gender equity and active participation in the Water and Sanitation Commissions (CAS), integrated water management, sustainability of the service, human right to water, among others, with the aim that women participate, influence and conduct the management and care of water and the environment.

The campaign has succeeded in getting women involved in water committees, and participating in the creation of regulations for the management of water systems, and management, operation and maintenance manuals and sustainability plans for drinking water systems.

The programme also included a TV spot with the slogan “Why do women also have the right to water and sanitation?”.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=386528439437946
Perú
Following a request from the Evaluation Division of the Peruvian Ministry of Housing, a fruitful exchange of experiences on gender mainstreaming in the framework of the FCAS programmes in Bolivia, Panama and Paraguay took place during 2020.

The main experiences shared among the participants were the creation of the Schools for Women Leaders, the promotion of women’s participation and empowerment in the Water Boards, as well as the training of women in non-traditional trades, especially plumbing, and the establishment of safeguards and coexistence regulations between companies and community leaders. All these actions focused on promoting the exercise of women’s rights, both in terms of participation in decision-making spaces and in system operation and maintenance activities.

In addition, experiences were shared on how women’s participation can have an impact on the sustainability of the systems.