No voice in Environmental Policy hurts Women

A farmer stands in her onion farm in Oddussudan, Sri Lanka.
Source: THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION/Amantha Perera

In 2010, government officials in Sri Lanka launched a $260 million rural water project in the Eastern and Central Provinces -and they made sure that women were at the helm. In one village, Talpotha, women have formed a management group that routinely visits houses connected to water pipes to ensure each home doesn’t exceed the limits.

“No one can play tricks with us because we know how much water is needed for household work (as) we are the ones who do most of that work,”

…Experts and local women say policymakers, virtually all of them men, need to make women active partner in decision making in order to address the problems affecting them

The issue is finding ways to increase the number of women working in government positions, managing and ensure their roles are legitimate. To find out more about improvements being made throughout southern Asia, and specifically Sri Lanka, read the whole article here.