ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies a paradox about women's participation in water management, while women in poor rural regions of the developing world are often responsible for water management at the household level, women are very under-represented in water management decision-making processes. It describes the One Million Cisterns program in the Brazilian semi-arid region, and the program's challenges and advances related to poor rural women's participation. The chapter focuses on women's participation in the National Council of Water Resources and Watershed Committees, which are territorial and participatory decision-making bodies concerned with water management. It considers the possibility of women participating in both programs, and the barriers and challenges experienced by poor rural women. The case of the Lower Sao Francisco River Watershed is examined to illustrate the issues regarding program participation. Finally, a feminist political ecology perspective is utilized to address women's paradox in water to bring to the surface the complexity of intersectionality for analyzing gender and water management.
