Dushanbe Women Water Forum 2018: Bridging Voices to Action

Women are an important stakeholder group in the provision, management and safeguarding of water. This was already acknowledged in the Dublin-Rio Principles for Integrated Water Resources Management that were endorsed by the Earth Summit of 1992. Subsequently, the Water for Life Decade 2005 – 2015 included a specific objective to “ensure the participation and involvement of women in water-related development efforts.”  Two major gender and  water fora were organized in the course of the Water for Life Decade to advance on women’s engagement. In this tradition, the government of Tajikistan will again host a Women Water Forum as a preconference event to the High-Level International Conference for the Water Action Decade. The Women Water Forum will join women leaders from different sectors in society to jointly develop priority actions for the Water Action Decade that will further gender sensitivity and women inclusiveness in water governance at all levels.

I have the pleasure of assisting the National Organizing Committee as Resource Person and liaison to the International Steering Committee.