Case Study: Nobo Jatra, Bangladesh Understanding the extent of women’s leadership in Water Management Committees: How does it affect the sustainability of water points? Case Study: Nobo Jatra, Bangladesh February 2019

OVERVIEW Nobo Jatra-New Beginning’ is a five year USAID Food for Peace Title II Development Food Security Activity working in South West Bangladesh

GOAL AND PURPOSES

KEY COMPONENTS

LOCAL CONTEXT Indicators National NJP working areas* % of households using recommended water treatment technologies 56% 35.2% Percentage of households that can obtain drinking water in less than 30 minutes (round trip) 61.4% 34.5% % of children U5 with diarrhea in the last two weeks 8.62% 9.8% % of children U5 with diarrhea treated with ORT >70% 85.2% Mean age at marriage for women aged 15-49 16.1 15.2 *Baseline data; BDHS 2014; WHO/UNICEF JMP data

WASH STRATEGY

COLLABORATING, LEARNING AND ADAPTATION (CLA)

Longitudinal Case Study OBJECTIVES Identify best practices in women’s leadership in Water Management Committees (WMCs) Ascertain the extent of women’s engagement to improve sustainability and functionality of WMCs Promote gender equality in accessing water resources WHY To fill knowledge gap and build technical evidence base on approaches that enhance women’s leadership in design, management, maintenance of water systems HOW Longitudinal case study in two phases Phase 1: Formative (already completed) Phase 2: Impact focused (after 4 years)

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES PHASE 1 Data Collection Source Phase 1 (conducted in January 2018) studies 3 thematic areas: RESEARCH OBJECTIVES PHASE 1 Thematic Area Research Questions Data Collection Source 1. Women’s Decision-Making Capacity What is women’s decision-making capacity within the WMCs regarding resource allocation, managing of water point/servicer or revenue generation (if applicable) Desk/literature Review KIIs & FGDs 2. Authority to advocate/act on behalf of WMCs To what extent do women have the authority to advocate/act on behalf of WMCs to organize meetings, mobilize other committee members to take collective action? 3. Obstacles to women’s meaningful participation What are some of the obstacles women face when holding meaningful, rather than “tokenistic – ceremonial” leadership or representation

Methodology for Phase1

WATER MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES

LEADERSHIP IN WMCS Roles and Responsibilities Conduct meetings Collect funds Mobilize people and committee members to attend meetings Maintain resolutions Identify water related problems Build community awareness Regularly coordinate with WATSAN committee and Department of Public Health and Engineering Caretaker selection and follow up of activities

FIELD FINDINGS Theme (1): Women’s Decision Making Capacity within the WMCs regarding resources allocation, managing water point/services or revenue generation Theme (2): Authority to advocate/act on behalf of WMC to organize meetings, mobilize other committee members to take collective action Theme (3): Obstacles to women’s meaningful, rather than “tokenistic – ceremonial” leadership/representation

FINDINGS Theme 1 Women are increasingly taking on leadership roles due to a number of reasons incl. seasonal migration, local govt. and NGO efforts. Local government bodies prioritized women’s participation. Distinctions between leadership positions were not always clear. Leadership was based on collective efforts depending on availability of members. Theme 2 Both men and women play a leading role to organize meetings. Some women represent the WMC to external stakeholders – at Union Parishad level and with Department of Public Health Engineering. Women are active in community mobilization; environmental compliances.

FIELD FINDINGS Theme 3 Social norms, household responsibilities and gender norms considered a barrier to participation. Women take their leadership role seriously – yet both men and women felt that women need to develop their capacity to serve as leaders. Leadership training was identified as a key area for both men and women.

PROGRESS TO DATE:

LEADERSHIP TRAINING

WMC’s ON GROUND Data till November 2018: 100% of water points have active and functional WMCs. 87% of WMC conducted meetings regularly 91% of water quality tests were performed via the Department of Public Health Engineering – indicating effective linkages between WMCs and Government structures. Women in leadership positions building linkages with Union Parishad’s for fund mobilization for the repair of water points.

https://www.wvb-nobojatra.org/ Saeqah_Kabir@wvi.org