IWMI-TATA Water Policy Research Program is a collaborative initiative between a research institution and a corporate body, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the Sir Ratan TATA Trust (SRTT). This partnership emerged from a shared concern regarding the growing water stress in different parts of India.
While the issues and problems related to water have been well articulated by several stakeholders over time, the IWMI-TATA program aims at evolving fresh perspectives and sustainable solutions by drawing from the vast research carried out across the country and take these in the form of policy recommendations to the policy makers at the national, state and local level.
Description
Invitation to contribute research papers on Gender equity in Irrigated Agriculture
IWMI-Tata Policy Research Programme is holding its annual partners meet in March 2012 in Anand, Gujarat, which plans to encourage research and discussions on a number of themes related to water management, agriculture and irrigation. One of the themes at this annual partners meet is Gender Equity in Irrigated Agriculture. The theme discussions aim to provide a platform to share new research in the area and contribute to stimulating discussions around the issue. The outcomes usually lead to outlining the lead areas of research for the IWMI Tata Policy research programme for the subsequent year.
Much of the research and practice in the area of gender and irrigation has largely focused on making women visible through documenting gendered work patterns, which provides a case for improving their rights over water use and their representation in water related institutions like the water users association. While this body of work has been very useful in establishing a case for women and recognizing them as stakeholders in the sector, it has neglected some of the central issues of critiquing irrigation thinking, its association with men and technocracy and the resultant exclusion of the weak or the powerless.
Presence of women in water management is not only about ensuring that they enter the predefined formal spaces in irrigation decision making, but also how these pre-defined boundaries of thinking and practice can change. This calls for research and practice at various levels, while on the one hand working with the powerless and the excluded is imperative, understanding and studying the dominant ideologies around irrigation becomes equally important.
Studies/papers around irrigation and gender equity would thus have to explore the following:
- Conceptual issues around irrigation thinking and how such thinking determines exclusion at macro and micro levels- would be interesting to study the content of irrigation science, the powerful within the sector and how they view it? What are the images and metaphors that get constructed around irrigation thinking, what kind of work is associated with irrigation at macro and micro level? This calls for a reading of policy and programs, discussions with the various players in the sector at the macro and the micro levels.
- Mapping inequities in terms of access to irrigation.
- Understanding the meanings of gender equity in the irrigation sector and its impacts on gender relations (individual access, freedom to decide on the crops to be taken, access to incomes earned from irrigated agriculture, impact of irrigation on gender equity- in terms of whether economic prosperity results in well being of women within the household, does it improve their public image, does it mitigate the gap between the public and the private domain? Do gender relations change as a result of the water intervention?)
- Discuss examples across the country to understand how these meanings around gender equity are being translated into an action programme? What are the obstacles faced while translating this into action? What are the varied complexities that unfold while implementing an idea into action?
Those interested in this theme can write to Seema Kulkarni at : seemakulkarni2@gmail.com.
Researchers are invited to submit field-based research papers, thought pieces, review articles on any of the themes mentioned in the attachment below. The submission should reach ITP by January 15, 2012 and not exceed 4500 words. Submission of a paper is no guarantee of selection by the theme manager for presentation in the Meet. IWMI-Tata Program will provide travel support to the lead author of each selected submission to participate in the Meet at Anand, Gujarat and present her/his paper. In addition, an honorarium of Rs 20,000 will be provided for each selected entry.
Submissions should be mailed to: t.shah@cgiar.org
Contact details:
Tushaar Shah
IWMI-Tata Policy Research Program,
C/O INREM Foundation,
Smruti Park, Opp. Mangalpura,
Anand 388001
Phone: +91-2692-263816/7
Mobile: +91-9825931984
Email: t.shah@cgiar.org / seemakulkarni2@gmail.com
Website: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/iwmi-tata/
The details of the annual meet and the themes that will be discussed can be downloaded from below: