Water rights are women’s rights

Why water rights are women’s rights and how better research can deliver both.

Agriculture in India is becoming increasingly reliant upon groundwater and irrigation to increase production amid unpredictable rainfall patterns. Given that women are responsible for producing as much as 80 per cent of food, water rights are tantamount to women’s rights.

With some 100 million women working in agriculture, India’s food security depends on ensuring that these women have equitable, consistent and convenient access to water that does not reinforce or generate new prejudices and disadvantages. For example, women and girls spend an estimated four hours a day fetching water – time that could be spent on higher-value…

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Photo credit: Prasanta Biswas/ICIMOD