Malawi offers women a bigger role in water management

August 26, 2011
By World Water Week Daily

The importance of supporting and trusting women in leadership positions in the water and sanitation sector was emphasised yesterday at the seminar Do Rights-Based Policies Enhance Women’s Leadership and Contribute to Sustainable WASH Outcomes? Attendees heard the success stories of women taking on leadership responsibilities in the management and maintenance of water kiosks in Malawi.

“When we went into Nkolokoti-Kachere, a low-income area in the city of Blantyre, the water situation was not good,” said Kate Harawa, Country Director for Water For People in Malawi. “We found that 11 out of the 34 water kiosks were not functioning and we needed to work out why. We realised that women were the main users of the kiosks, carrying water to and from the kiosks every day but they were not involved in their management. This was a situation that needed to change.”

Having visited other places outside of Blantyre where they had successful water operations, Water For People signed a memorandum of understanding in 2009 with the Blantyre Water Board, with the local government and with the users themselves, to form the Nkolokoti-Kachere Water User Association (WUA), aimed at working as a partnership to improve the water situation. Following a research and data collection exercise, one of the key findings was the lack of involvement of women in the running of the water kiosks, despite them being the biggest users and collectors.

“With the new model we made a big effort to encourage women to not just get involved but to apply for leadership positions,” said Harawa. “With women now participating, the Nkolokoti-Kachere WUA put in place sound monitoring and evaluating systems, record keeping and transparency, and regular inspections and capacity building in the community so that they can now manage without outside assistance.”

All 34 water kiosks are now functioning well under new management, which includes a number of women, and the success has led to investment in new kiosks. The Malawi government has consequently made the Nkolokoti-Kachere WUA model an example to be replicated across the country.