Gender and power contestations over water use in irrigation schemes: Lessons from the lake Chilwa basin

The impacts of covid-19 on gender dynamics and power relations among men and women involved in cross border fish trade in Zambia and Malawi

“…This system entails that land and other resources are accessed through wives and their brothers and heads of the matrilineage. However, colonial rule disrupted women's control over land and water in the basin [30] such that culturally defined ownership does not automatically translate to control; neither does it automatically influence intra-household bargaining power [31] . For instance, although in matrilineal systems, women can make some decisions over land, the men's clan and maternal uncles often have the final say when big decisions are made [31] .…”

Women and small-scale irrigation: A review of the factors influencing gendered patterns of participation and benefits

“…The gender-sensitivity of policies, investments, and interventions for small-scale irrigation also influences the extent to which women participate in and benefit from various systems for small-scale irrigation. For example, investments in water infrastructure at multiple scales, such as dams, irrigation schemes, and tubewells, may change land and water use patterns and use rights in ways that may negatively affect women by not meeting their specific land and water needs or by negatively affecting their labor burden (Mitra andRao 2019, Nkhoma andKayira 2016). That is, policies, investments, and interventions are important components of the opportunity structure that shape the design and development of systems for small-scale irrigation and also determine the types of technology and finance available to farmers.…”

“…More inclusive interventions take into consideration and aim to address the specific constraints and opportunities that women face in a particular context, such as lack of access to information about irrigation ). On the other hand, gender-blind irrigation interventions can unintentionally introduce or exacerbate gender inequalities (Mitra and Rao 2019, Lefore, Weight, and Mukhamedova 2017, Nkhoma and Kayira 2016, van Koppen 2002. The gender sensitivity of irrigation and natural resource management programs depends, in part, on the perceptions about, as well as support and resources for, gender equity from decision makers from the national to local level, including men and women policymakers, irrigation engineers, project implementers, technocrats, among others (Dittoh, Snyder and Lefore 2015).…”

“…Even in contexts where women have land rights, such as in the Lake Chalwa Basin in Malawi, the development of irrigation schemes disrupted matrilineal power structures through which women had strong land and water rights-men were favored within the scheme and allocated plots near the water source (Nkhoma and Kayira 2016). In Uzbekistan, women farmers were excluded from formal irrigation schemes and the water user associations, despite the disproportionate role women farmers play in irrigated food production for national nutritional security (Lefore, Weight, and Mukhamedova 2017).…”

“…This research demonstrated how gender relations influenced irrigation investments and the development of formal and informal irrigation institutions that in turn, often constrained opportunities for women to participate in and benefit from the schemes (Padmaja et al 2019, Lefore, Weight, and Mukhamedova. 2017, Nkhoma and Kayira 2016. More recently, studies are examining gender dynamics and small-scale irrigation with important contributions from the CGIAR.…”