ANNOUNCEMENTS
Women are particularly affected by the water issues worldwide. They are in-charge of locating a resource that their families will need for drinking, cooking, sanitation, and hygiene. They may have to wait in line, travel great distances, or pay outrageous prices to obtain water. For millions of women, gathering water is one of their main daily activities. They end up not living up to their full potential because they have little to no time for work, education, or family responsibilities.
Through this study, the researcher has tried to understand how women are represented as key stakeholders in the national and state level water policies on the lines of accessibility, availability, and affordability of water. Alongside, the study discusses how the gender dynamics between men and women plays out in a lower income peri-urban area in Udaipur, Rajasthan which is a water scarce zone of the country. The report shows how despite being prone to the paucity of the resource, patriarchal social norms still come into play and women & girls of the household are expected to manage water while men are the ones making decisions around the same. A wide gap in the policies is highlighted showing that women are yet to be recognized as a key user of water resources at community and household level. This situation calls for gender mainstreaming not just at a theorizing state but also inducing onground change using policy instruments.
Keywords – Gender, Water Policy, Time Budgeting, Gender Mainstreaming, Water Managers.
