UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called for the need to mainstream gender in water governance, calling it imperative for the achievement of water security, especially in the countries hit by water scarcity.
“For this to be truly successful, all users and stakeholders must be involved in setting up water management and irrigation programmes, including and perhaps first and foremost women,” Senator Naseema Ehsan, a Pakistani delegate, told the Annual Parliamentary Hearing, a combined initiative of the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
She said in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 6 – about clean water and sanitation for all – it was imperative to recognize the need for the balanced representation of women, youth and local indigenous communities at all levels of water management, while participating in a dialogue ‘Towards a more inclusive water policy: Leaving no one behind.’
Water scarcity in Pakistan
Ehsan raised concerns that Pakistan was fast becoming a “water-scarce” country, and the government had devised a policy to address this challenge.
She added this water crisis reaffirms the right of all Pakistani citizens to equal and affordable access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities.
The Pakistani delegate said the government’s current strategy of “Integrated Water Resources Management” recognized the need to introduce appropriate policy measures, institutional reforms, and knowledge-based interventions to enhance the efficiency of water infrastructure and management systems.
She said the Hearing that the 2018 Sindh Water Management (Amendment) Act guarantees women representation in provincial water bodies calling it “an important step towards inclusive water governance.” —APP
