Gender & Water Community

Water First, published by Sage Publications, is the latest in a series of books co-edited by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt.

The book brings together current knowledge and cutting edge interdisciplinary perspectives from renowned scholars on the histories, politics, ecologies and cultures of water in South Asia.

It explores the challenges of contemporary water management practices, offers examples of local action and provides insights into the complex and dynamic relationships that exist between water and human societies - locally, regionally, nationally and internationally by eminent experts.

Read the exclusive online interview to OneWorld South Asia, in which Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt discusses some of the pressing issues of water in South Asia such as the hegemonic nature of current water management practices which has proven to be disastrous… Following is an excerpt on the issue of gender equality:

…Water reflects social inequities; and gender inequities within our society are also reflected in current water management practices. This is an area that we have not adequately addressed in South Asia: one of the Millennium Development Goals is related to access to water and sanitation, but a visit to one of the poorer areas in town or a village would convince you that we are a long way away from meeting that goal.

See also her previous edited book Fluid Bonds on Gender and Water issues which makes gender visible in the various ways water is dealt with, and questions how these ways affect gender and how gender affects the views on water. Purchase this and other books edited by Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt here.