Speech of President Mariet Verhoef-Cohen at SWWW
Mariet Verhoef- Cohen shared her views of gender-disaggregated indicators at the session of UNESCO- World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). The session was co-hosted by WfWP, please see her speech below.
Distinguished guest, honorary members,
On one of my recent trips to South Africa, I visited a village near Durban called Amandawe, which means ‘river flowing to the hills and valleys’. I met a young woman there called Mariama, who told me a heart-wrenching story – a story I cannot get out of my head. Early one Sunday morning, Mariama had gone to fetch water for her baby boy and daughters. After filling two jerry cans with fresh water from the well nearby, she started to make her way homes. As she walked with the heavy cans along the empty, silent road, she saw a cloud of dust rising from the horizon. A car was approaching at a breakneck speed. The moment it passed, Mariama heard the brakes. The car was pulled over, and a man got out. He stared at her. And from that one look, she knew exactly what was about to happen. She dropped the water cans and ran as fast as she could. But to no avail. In a flash the man caught her by the shoulder and pressed her down onto the deep red earth.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not an isolated case. It is the reality of life for women in many countries around the world. And it is the reason why we need gender disaggregated data.
Yes, there might be a water source just 50 meters away, but if the risk of rape whilst fetching water from this source is too high, women will walk the extra mile to get to another, safer water source.
We cannot document that reality if we do not develop both quantitative and qualitative indicators. For the past decade Women for Water Partnership has stressed the importance of basic gender disaggregated indicators to monitor and report the global water progress. We need these data from the grassroots, from the women, from civil society. It is our duty to make their voices heard.
Let me tell you another story:
The people from Amandawe were called to a village meeting to discuss, among other things, the operations and maintenance of the surrounding water wells. As the villagers considered this topic important, there was a massive turnout. And around 50% of all those present were women.
But although women were well represented (quantitatively speaking), not a single woman was heard during the meeting.
Again, this is the reason why we need gender disaggregated data – as well as both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Clearly, there is a difference between calculating the percentage of women present at a meeting, i.e. the quantitative indicators, and their actual involvement, the qualitative indicators, which means that their arguments are heard, implemented and incorporated. Merely ticking off the box to show that women have been to the meeting is not sufficient.
To achieve our objectives, we need to invest. We need to invest time, (wo)manpower and money. Indeed, we require a considerable amount of funding, as we have to build the capacity to look at results from a gender perspective.
For the past ten years Women for Water Partnership has stressed the importance of gender disaggregate indicators.
For the past ten years Women for Water Partnership has stressed the importance of obtaining both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
This is why I am so excited about your participation in this meeting today. It means that this vital issue is now finally on the agenda. I have great confidence that we will succeed in our joint and fundamental endeavour to make gender disaggregated data in the water sector a reality.
The 26 civil society organisations of WfWP, located all over the world, are more than willing to play a part in this task. And I see huge opportunities via social media, which can be put to use as a valuable tool for transparency and accountability.
I would like to conclude by stressing once more that if we genuinely want to get the right gender disaggregated data, we must be willing to invest substantial funds, time and (wo)manpower. We need to build capacity to be able to take into account the voices of the grassroots. In this way we can protect women from rape and violence and support them in influencing town meetings. It is with these voices at local level that we can truly make a difference and affect change.
Thank you very much.
Mariet Verhoef- Cohen shared her views of gender-disaggregated indicators at the session of UNESCO- World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP). The session was co-hosted by WfWP, please see her speech below.
Distinguished guest, honorary members,
On one of my recent trips to South Africa, I visited a village near Durban called Amandawe, which means ‘river flowing to the hills and valleys’. I met a young woman there called Mariama, who told me a heart-wrenching story – a story I cannot get out of my head. Early one Sunday morning, Mariama had gone to fetch water for her baby boy and daughters. After filling two jerry cans with fresh water from the well nearby, she started to make her way homes. As she walked with the heavy cans along the empty, silent road, she saw a cloud of dust rising from the horizon. A car was approaching at a breakneck speed. The moment it passed, Mariama heard the brakes. The car was pulled over, and a man got out. He stared at her. And from that one look, she knew exactly what was about to happen. She dropped the water cans and ran as fast as she could. But to no avail. In a flash the man caught her by the shoulder and pressed her down onto the deep red earth.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is not an isolated case. It is the reality of life for women in many countries around the world. And it is the reason why we need gender disaggregated data.
Yes, there might be a water source just 50 meters away, but if the risk of rape whilst fetching water from this source is too high, women will walk the extra mile to get to another, safer water source.
We cannot document that reality if we do not develop both quantitative and qualitative indicators. For the past decade Women for Water Partnership has stressed the importance of basic gender disaggregated indicators to monitor and report the global water progress. We need these data from the grassroots, from the women, from civil society. It is our duty to make their voices heard.
Let me tell you another story:
The people from Amandawe were called to a village meeting to discuss, among other things, the operations and maintenance of the surrounding water wells. As the villagers considered this topic important, there was a massive turnout. And around 50% of all those present were women.
But although women were well represented (quantitatively speaking), not a single woman was heard during the meeting.
Again, this is the reason why we need gender disaggregated data – as well as both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
Clearly, there is a difference between calculating the percentage of women present at a meeting, i.e. the quantitative indicators, and their actual involvement, the qualitative indicators, which means that their arguments are heard, implemented and incorporated. Merely ticking off the box to show that women have been to the meeting is not sufficient.
To achieve our objectives, we need to invest. We need to invest time, (wo)manpower and money. Indeed, we require a considerable amount of funding, as we have to build the capacity to look at results from a gender perspective.
For the past ten years Women for Water Partnership has stressed the importance of gender disaggregate indicators.
For the past ten years Women for Water Partnership has stressed the importance of obtaining both quantitative and qualitative indicators.
This is why I am so excited about your participation in this meeting today. It means that this vital issue is now finally on the agenda. I have great confidence that we will succeed in our joint and fundamental endeavour to make gender disaggregated data in the water sector a reality.
The 26 civil society organisations of WfWP, located all over the world, are more than willing to play a part in this task. And I see huge opportunities via social media, which can be put to use as a valuable tool for transparency and accountability.
I would like to conclude by stressing once more that if we genuinely want to get the right gender disaggregated data, we must be willing to invest substantial funds, time and (wo)manpower. We need to build capacity to be able to take into account the voices of the grassroots. In this way we can protect women from rape and violence and support them in influencing town meetings. It is with these voices at local level that we can truly make a difference and affect change.
Thank you very much.
