Dushanbe Gender Forum proposes Women for Water Fund
Dushanbe Gender Forum asks for a Women for Water Fund to make women’s meaningful participation in water cooperation a reality on the ground.
On the eve of the High Level International Conference on Water Cooperation over 150 women and men from across the globe, including ministers, women’s civil society leaders, representatives from UN Agencies, water sector specialists, development NGOs, academia and financing partners addressed the role of women in achieving universal access to water and sanitation and discussed the preconditions to make a meaningful participation of women at all levels possible.
A core recommendation was the establishment of an international Women for Water Fund to support women projects and programs in water management.
The Gender Forum was opened by H.E. Ms Ruqiya Qurbonova, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, who stressed the importance of gender in water cooperation, in general and for her country. In her opening address, WfWP President Alice Bouman-Dentener reconfirmed the central role of women in the provision, management and safeguarding of water (Dublin Principle 3) and zoomed in on women’s civil society as key stakeholders.
The Gender Forum was an initiative of the Women for Water Partnership and the Government of Tajikistan and was co-organised with UNW-DPAC, OXFAM-Tajikistan, UN-Women, UNDP, UNU-INWEH and SDC.
During the High Level opening panel chaired by Dr. Gretchen Kalonji of UNESCO, the President of AMCOW, H.E. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, Mr. Francois Muenger of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation andGWP-TEC Chair, Dr. Mohamed Ait Kadi focused on the importance of gendermainstreaming policy, a universal water goal and the social equity component ofIWRM.
The leading role of women’s civil society in establishing local ownership and developing and up-scaling successful community interventions was introduced by UN-Women and the social capital mapping exercise of UNU-INWEH. Women’s added value in water cooperation was amply demonstrated through cases from Armenia and Ukraine (water cooperation for human development), Nigeria (economic benefit), Uganda and Tanzania (ecosystems), and Myanmar and Nepal (water cooperation beyond boundaries). The Hon. Sarah Ochekpe, minister of water resources, Nigeria and Hon. Flavia Nabugere, Minister of State for environment and water, Uganda shared the panel with women’s civil society leaders from their respective countries demonstrating cooperation between governments and civil society in practice.
A highlight was the presence of a delegation of women civil society leaders from Tajikistan who debated their reality case with the Gender Forum participants including representative from the departments of water, health and gender of Tajikistan. The participants recommended that this meaningful exchange be the start of a full-fledged Women for Water working conference in Tajikistan to address the challenges of the local population and engage in women lead projects that are sustainable and address the local priorities.
The outcome of the Gender Forum will feed into the High Level on Water Cooperation of tomorrow through the participation of WfWP President in the Opening Ceremony, the High Level Panel 5 on Gender on August 21st as well as participation of Women for Water Partnership delegates in many High Level Panels and Special Focus Events.
Dushanbe Gender Forum asks for a Women for Water Fund to make women’s meaningful participation in water cooperation a reality on the ground.
On the eve of the High Level International Conference on Water Cooperation over 150 women and men from across the globe, including ministers, women’s civil society leaders, representatives from UN Agencies, water sector specialists, development NGOs, academia and financing partners addressed the role of women in achieving universal access to water and sanitation and discussed the preconditions to make a meaningful participation of women at all levels possible.
A core recommendation was the establishment of an international Women for Water Fund to support women projects and programs in water management.
The Gender Forum was opened by H.E. Ms Ruqiya Qurbonova, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, who stressed the importance of gender in water cooperation, in general and for her country. In her opening address, WfWP President Alice Bouman-Dentener reconfirmed the central role of women in the provision, management and safeguarding of water (Dublin Principle 3) and zoomed in on women’s civil society as key stakeholders.
The Gender Forum was an initiative of the Women for Water Partnership and the Government of Tajikistan and was co-organised with UNW-DPAC, OXFAM-Tajikistan, UN-Women, UNDP, UNU-INWEH and SDC.
During the High Level opening panel chaired by Dr. Gretchen Kalonji of UNESCO, the President of AMCOW, H.E. Sarah Reng Ochekpe, Mr. Francois Muenger of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation andGWP-TEC Chair, Dr. Mohamed Ait Kadi focused on the importance of gendermainstreaming policy, a universal water goal and the social equity component ofIWRM.
The leading role of women’s civil society in establishing local ownership and developing and up-scaling successful community interventions was introduced by UN-Women and the social capital mapping exercise of UNU-INWEH. Women’s added value in water cooperation was amply demonstrated through cases from Armenia and Ukraine (water cooperation for human development), Nigeria (economic benefit), Uganda and Tanzania (ecosystems), and Myanmar and Nepal (water cooperation beyond boundaries). The Hon. Sarah Ochekpe, minister of water resources, Nigeria and Hon. Flavia Nabugere, Minister of State for environment and water, Uganda shared the panel with women’s civil society leaders from their respective countries demonstrating cooperation between governments and civil society in practice.
A highlight was the presence of a delegation of women civil society leaders from Tajikistan who debated their reality case with the Gender Forum participants including representative from the departments of water, health and gender of Tajikistan. The participants recommended that this meaningful exchange be the start of a full-fledged Women for Water working conference in Tajikistan to address the challenges of the local population and engage in women lead projects that are sustainable and address the local priorities.
The outcome of the Gender Forum will feed into the High Level on Water Cooperation of tomorrow through the participation of WfWP President in the Opening Ceremony, the High Level Panel 5 on Gender on August 21st as well as participation of Women for Water Partnership delegates in many High Level Panels and Special Focus Events.
