Eastern Nile Gender Forum

As part of its commitment to advancing gender equality within the transboundary water context, ENTRO has provided support to address challenges women face at the institutional and program level to facilitate equitable and inclusive participation in transboundary water management processes associated with the programs it supports in sub-Saharan Africa.

ENTRO believes that challenges women face within the water sector are linked to deep-rooted patriarchal norms and male domination which limit women’s voice and participation in decision making and program development and implementation.

In response to these challenges, ENTRO has developed a Framework that promotes a transformative approach that hinges on disrupting cultural traditions and social norms that prevent women from getting to a place to participate equally in decision making. 

Women’s empowerment within a transformational framework presumes equality at all levels and sectors of influence and involves a shift in gender relations by targeting all stakeholders, some of whom may be resistant to changing social norms. 

To do this ENTRO is seeking to facilitate sustained, multi-sectoral, and multi-layered interventions at both programmatic and activity levels. 

This requires engaging key stakeholders across multiple sectors and layers of institutions and programs to find opportunities to transform power relationships and to tackle gender inequalities. 

By promoting a holistic and integrated focus on women, men and other vulnerable populations, the Framework also seeks to ensure that ENTRO’s investments in transboundary water management result in project outcomes that benefit all women and men as well as girls and boys associated with the support that ENTRO provides.

The critical role that women play key in generating change in the way water is used, shared, and allocated is being increasingly acknowledged. Despite the key role they play at all levels ranging from the local to the transnational, there continue to be limitations in the space for women’s participation in planning and decision making that are linked to legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks.

To address inequalities connected to the involvement of women within transboundary water management institutions and systems, actions need to be taken to facilitate opportunities for them to secure the same benefits and opportunities as men. 

To facilitate equal access to water resources for all stakeholders, there is therefore a need to adopt an approach to water governance that is more inclusive and equitable. 

To accelerate transformations that have the potential to deliver more sustainable resources for both people and for the natural world, a critical first step is to improve the recognition and appreciation of the key roles that women can play as leaders and decision-makers in the governance of shared waters. 

It is equally important to identify the differences in needs and priorities between women and men while capturing how actions should be tailored to accommodate these differences, many of which are linked to deep-seated inequalities between women and men. 

Gender is:  About women, girls, men and boys including the different things that women and men think and do, and the relationships between them.

Gender equality According to the Harvard Business Review, gender equality is: 

a state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities, irrespective of gender. It entails the absence of discrimination on the basis of a person's gender in opportunities, allocation of resources or benefits, or in the access to services. It is about changing the norms and expectations about female and male roles and ultimately changing power relations by fostering a more balanced distribution of power within governments, companies, formal and informal institutions and households.

Gender is NOT:

• Only about women and girls: Men and boys should also be part of the GESI equation.
• Only women’s responsibility: For real change to happen, everyone needs to be involved.
• A Western or foreign concept: Gender equality is a global commitment articulated in international, regional and national commitments to which most countries worldwide are signatories.
• An attempt to take away the rights of men and boys: Human rights are universal, which means that they apply to all human beings.
• Only an issue for gender specialists:  Relying solely on gender specialists cannot tackle the main drivers of gender inequality and social exclusion. Everyone needs to be involved.