Women and water: Gender, privatization, and water rights in Latin America

In 1992 at the Dublin Conference on Water and the Environment, four principles were adopted, in which one focused its attention on women and their role in the provision, management and safe guarding of water. However, integrating a gendered perspective to water management---although crucial for sustainable development---has not been successfully implemented. The Dublin Conference declared water should be recognized as an economic good instead of a common good. Interestingly, in July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the human right to water; however, how it has been implemented, negotiated and experienced has remained a challenge, given water's new economic value. Elaborating on this concept and examining the world's fresh water as a human right and not a source for commercial profit, through this thesis, I will attempt to argue that water should be controlled by the citizens and nongovernmental organizations and not by private corporations. In addition I will strongly support the argument that women are already major components of water management and are most affected by water scarcity, and therefore a gendered perspective is necessary in creating successful water resource management solutions. Secondly, I will contend that water is a human right and that it should be managed by the citizens and nongovernmental organizations, not private corporations.;First, as a result of the arguments I mentioned, the thesis will begin with an introduction of the foundational issues surrounding water and its critical state. Particularly, I will lay out an analysis of the water problem being faced around the globe and in the Latin American region. In addition, I will illustrate issues of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene to demonstrate the daunting statistics that many in developing countries in are experiencing due to water scarcity and lack of access to clean water. I will also introduce how women are impacted and why they haven't been fully integrated into water management solutions; along with specifics of international treaties such as the Dublin Principles, the Kyoto Declaration and the United Nations General Assembly's 2010 recognition of the human right to water. I will briefly discuss the controversies behind the right to water, as I will discuss this issue in more depth in Chapter 3.;Once the water problem's impact is established, I will narrow the thesis' focus on both women and the region of Latin America. Specifically, I will provide an analysis of the relationship between gender, women, and water in Latin America.;Secondly, I will argue that if the United Nations General Assembly's acknowledgement of the human right to water is to become effective, water should be managed by its citizens and NGOs, not private corporations, as this will allow for there to be water democracy. In this third section of the thesis, I will focus upon the risks involved when delegating control of a life-sustaining resource, such as water, to for-profit companies. In this section of the thesis I will expand the issue of water privatization with supporting literature which focuses their attention on the disparity that is created by water privatization and specifically, how this disparity affects women the most. Additionally, I will illustrate the issues of how privatization emerged as a preferred method, along with the failures that privatization has perpetuated in developing nations of Latin America and their reactions to reform.;To illustrate the experiences of Latin American women and water privatization, I will feature two country analyses; Mexico and Bolivia.;In the final section of the thesis I will first develop recommendations on how to integrate key stakeholders, such as women into critical sustainable water policy solutions, and how this will allow and enable the possibility for a gendered perspective of water management; and address the possible alternatives to water privatization and why these are critical in sustainable water development. Secondly, I will suggest that commitments to gender equality be officially integrated into future water discussions at the United Nations, environmental conferences, and global organizations---not just through lip-service, but through modes of monitoring and evaluation in order to effectively implement and see impact within the water sector. Lastly, I will develop a final conclusion which will provide an overall analysis of the thesis' argument on integrating women in water resource management solutions, and the importance in viewing water as a human right so those with the highest stake and who are most impacted, have a say in its management, such as its users and citizens, and NGOs, not private corporations. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).