Description
Book SynopsisThe majority of the poor people in South and Southeast Asia do not have sufficient access to safe potable water sources. Various studies demonstrate that poor women have less access than poor men, especially in the developing world. Due to the gendered division of labor, the role of women, especially those who are poor, is vital in collecting, distributing, and safeguarding water. Current studies on water governance do not focus on poor women's ability to access potable water sources through their involvement in the distribution process. Water for Poor Women: Quest for an Alternative Paradigm, by Sayeed Iftekhar Ahmed, develops an alternative governance paradigm to ensure poor women's water security through their participation in the governance process. This study assesses the effects of governance on water distribution and participation from the perspective of poor women. Ahmed examines the state-led and Public Private Participation (PPP) governance systems located in two developing metropolises: Dhaka, Bangladesh and Manila, the Philippines, respectively. This crucial investigation reveals that poor women have very limited ability to access water under the state-led governance system in Dhaka, but comparatively more ability to access water resources under the PPP governance in Manila. However, women are excluded from the decision-making process under both types of governance systems. Water for Poor Women proposes an alternative system of governance for ensuring women's participation in the governance processes to promote the goal of more equitable distribution of urban water.
Trade ReviewAhmed examines the impact of different water governance mechanisms on poor women in Dhaka and Manila. Dhaka has a state-led water governance system that provides cheap, but low quality, water. The needs and interests of marginalized women are not taken into account or included in the decision-making process. In contrast, the public-private participation governance system in metropolitan Manila provides more expensive, but high quality, water. Marginalized women benefit from the high quality of water and struggle to pay for it, but they are not included in the governance structure. Ahmed recommends an alternative governance paradigm that is deliberative and reflexive, is centered on the needs of marginalized women, and incorporates them into the governance process. By reflexive, he means participatory with special mechanisms to ensure the participation of marginalized women. By deliberative, he means a process in which the various segments of a community, including marginalized women, coordinate their priorities. The comparative analysis of the two water governance systems is valuable. The alternative governance paradigm is admirable but lacks a political strategy for implementation. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. * CHOICE *
Sayeed Ahmed has written an important book that will be useful for scholars and water managers who want to better understand the issues surrounding water resource management for marginalized women and the urban poor. -- Zachary Smith, Northern Arizona University
Dr. Ahmed carefully documents the tragic failure of both public and private water systems to provide safe and affordable water for poor and marginalized women, and he notes the critical importance of doing so if we hope to solve water problems in the 21st century. -- Peter Gleick, President, Pacific Institute
Table of ContentsChapter One. Introduction Chapter Two. Governance Paradigms and the Capabilities of Marginalized Women Chapter Three. State-Led Water Governance And Marginalized Women’s Capabilities: A Perspective From Dhaka Chapter Four. Public-Private Participation (PPP) Water Governance and Marginalized Women’s Capabilities: The Experience of Metropolitan Manila
