Gender inequality in urban water governance: Continuity and change in two towns of Nepal

Gender‐based inequality has long been recognized as a challenge in water governance and urban development. Women do most of the water collection‐related tasks in the majority of low‐income country's urban areas, as they do in rural areas for drinking, household consumption, kitchen gardening, and farming. However, their voice is rarely heard in water governance. When climate change exacerbates water scarcity, it becomes harder for people to secure water with more pronounced effects on women. Drawing on the narratives of men and women involved in water management practices and also the views of the stakeholders who are part of water resource management in two towns in Nepal, this paper demonstrates emerging forms of gender inequality concerning access to and control over water resources, as well as associated services such as sanitation. We found that women's voice in water governance is systematically excluded, and such gender‐based disadvantage intersects with economic disadvantage as women in low‐income poor urban settlements are experiencing additional difficulty in accessing water and sanitation services. Gender inequity persists in the urban water sector, and of course the wider social structures, despite some progressive policy changes in recent years, such as the 30% quota reserved for women in local‐level water management bodies in Nepal. The paper concludes that tackling gender inequity in water management requires a transformative approach that seriously takes into account women's voice, critical awareness, and open deliberation over the causes and consequences of the current approaches and practices. Moreover, gender‐inclusive outcomes on water management are linked to changes in areas outside of the water sector, such as property ownership structures that constrain or enable women's access to water and related services. 摘要 长期以来，基于性别的不平等被认为是水治理和城市发展中的一项挑战。大多数低收入国家的城市妇女和农村妇女一样从事了绝大多数与取水相关的劳动，用于饮用、家庭消费、厨房菜园和农业。不过，水治理中却很少听到她们的观点。当气候变化加剧水资源匮乏时，人们更难以确保对妇女具有更明显影响的水资源。基于水管理实践中男性和女性的叙事、以及尼泊尔两城市中水资源管理利益攸关方的观点，本文证明了性别不平等的新形式，其有关于水资源获取和管理，以及例如卫生设施等服务。我们发现，水治理中妇女的观点被系统性排除，并且这类性别劣势与经济劣势相交叉，因为低收入贫困城市妇女在获取水资源和卫生设施服务方面正经历额外困难。性别不公平持续存在于城市水部门和更广的社会结构中，尽管近年来出现了一些进步性政策变革，例如尼泊尔地方水管理机构将30%的席位留给妇女。本文的结论认为，应对水管理中的性别不公平要求采取变革性措施，将以下几点认真考虑在内：妇女的观点、批判性意识、以及关于当前措施和实践的起因和结果的开放商议。此外，包容性别的水管理结果与一系列除水部门之外的领域变革相关，例如财产所有权结构—限制或让妇女能够获取水资源及相关服务。 Resumen La desigualdad basada en el género ha sido reconocida durante mucho tiempo como un desafío en la gobernanza del agua y el desarr