1. Gender and Capacity Building
Initiatives in WASH
A Review of Training Curriculum
Swati Sinha
National Conference on Women led
Water Management, New Delhi,
India
5-6 November,2012

2. Context
 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): an
International Agenda
 Dublin Principle – Women’s role in WASH
 MDG has strong linkage with Gender and WASH
outcomes
 Capacity Building a vehicle for social change
 Gender and Capacity Building

3. Capacity Building Initiatives in
WASH in India
 Government of India
 National Rural Drinking Water Program
(NRDWP) and Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA)
 Key Resource Centers (KRCs) – National
Level
 Community Capacity Development Units
(CCDUs) – State level
 NGO’s
 WASH program funded by INGO’s
 Thiruchirapally case: example of community
sanitation

4. Findings of the review
• Training programs hardly covers G&E issues – leave
apart dedicated training – gap between policy and
1 practice
• Trainers and participants are mostly men (gender
disaggregated information hardly exist – one KRC
2 reports having only 7% female participants (yearly data)
• Gender blind training content : no dedicated content on
G&E sensitization, menstrual hygiene issue not tackled
3

5. Reinforcing Gender Stereotyping in
training curriculum

6. The mother nurturing a male
child..

7. What can be done?
 A thorough review of training curricula of
KRCs, CCDUs from G&E lens
 Gender inclusive capacity building strategy –
guidelines for trainers, TOTs and training
materials development
 Gender in organisation – have gender and
equity sensitisation trainings of trainers (KRCs,
CCDUs)
 Dedicated training modules on Gender & WASH
at all levels (community, PHED engineers,
policy makers)

8. Key References:
 Centre for Good Governance and Uttaranchal Academy of Administration.
Swajaldhara & TSC Capacity Building Programme for Indian States. New Delhi;
Department of Drinking Water Supply, Ministry of Rural Development.
Government of India 2005.
 [http://www.ddws.gov.in/sites/upload_files/ddws/files/pdfs/KRCs%20guidelines.
pdf - ‘Support to National Key Resource Centres (KRCs) for training and capacity
building in rural drinking water sector’, GOI,
 http://www.ddws.gov.in/sites/upload_files/ddws/files/pdf/CCDU.pdf - ‘Support to
States on Communication and Capacity Development in Rural Water Supply and
Sanitation Sector’
 Gender Water and Sanitation: a Policy Brief. UN water, June 2006,
[http://www.unwater.org/downloads/unwpolbrief230606.pdf accessed 2 October
2012]
 Joshi, D. and M. Zwarteveen, ‘Gender in Drinking Water and Sanitation: An
Introduction’, in M. Zwarteveen, S.Ahmed and S. Rimal Gautam (eds), Diverting
the flow: Gender equity and water in south asia (New Delhi: ZUBAAN, 2012),
pp.161 -174
 http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_key_points.html

9. Key References:
 http://ddws.gov.in/sites/upload_files/ddws/files/pdf/Final%20Guidelines%20%2
8English%29.pdf - Guidelines; Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan, GOI
 http://ddws.gov.in/sites/upload_files/ddws/files/pdf/NSHAC_strategy_11-09-
2012_Final.pdf - ‘Sanitation and Hygiene Advocacy Communication Framework
2012 – 2017’ UNICEF, New Delhi (2012)