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American University 7 October 2013

Shireen Lateef Senior Advisor (Gender)


The views expressed in this presentation are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Infrastructure: What are we talking about?


Transport and communication Energy services Water supply & sanitation Waste water management Rural infrastructure
irrigation and water resources management rural roads rural electrification

Urban infrastructure
Urban water and sanitation Urban transport

Also policy and institutional reforms


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Womens access to basic infrastructure


In Asia and Pacific many women still lack access to water supply & sanitation, electricity, roads, and affordable transportation
30% of the rural population lack safe drinking water 64% no access to sanitation 68% have no electricity

Significant time spent


collecting water and firewood to meet domestic needs limited proximity to education and health services fewer economic opportunities or access to markets

Basic infrastructure is critical to


release women from drudgery work enhance their mobility & well-being Enhance their economic opportunities
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Water and Sanitation


Women are primary collectors, transporters, users and managers of domestic water promoters of home and community based sanitation activities family care givers responsible for family health have water needs for irrigation and food production

Better access to water gives women


more time for income generating activities attend to family needs and their own welfare and leisure. release from time consuming water collection and storage girl children can go to school

Transport & Roads


Better roads and transport services improve womens access to education and health services enable girls to attend secondary schools and colleges as travel becomes easier, faster and more convenient roads improve access to womens employment opportunities markets are easier to reach increasing trading opportunities roads connectivity- more social travel to maintain family ties, access information contributing to womens economic and social empowerment rural roads with labor intensive construction provide work opportunities and much needed cash income for poor women.

Energy
Labor saving technologies improved cooking stoves and fuels food processing machines, grinding mills, water pumps & lighting Benefits
improves womens health improves womens safety while traveling at night provides access to information and knowledge from the media reduces time spent on household and community chores provides lighting in the evening for reading, homework, television frees up time for economic & livelihood enhancing activities increases womens leisure time improves womens well-being and supports womens empowerment

Cambodia Rural water supply and sanitation project


2583 drill wells, 1387 combined wells, 227 hand dug well 4000 (56%) women participated in village meetings 2000 women (40%-60%) in planning, technology choice and design 11,000 (40%) in supervision of well construction 39% women in O & M training 35% female NGO staff nearly 5,700 WSUGs established 43% women board members

Bangladesh: Rural Infrastructure Results


Project Outputs Feeder Roads Market Infrastructure Shops and training for women, separate womens market sections; Growth Center Markets with areas allocated to women Tree Plantation and Routine Maintenance (1250 km) for destitute women Bridges, Culverts, Ghats (39), flood refuge centers (30) Union Parishad Complexes (105) Gender Action Plan Results 4.62m work days for women; 2200 women contracted for road side maintenance; Pay equity; 133 Women market sections - separate toilet facilities; 816 Shops allotted to women; 733 female traders trained in shop management; women in market management 200 Women market sections (279); Women in market management Labor Contracting Societies (LCS) formed/savings/skills training; 250 LCS trained Women given 5 km road maintenance Womens private corner in 14 flood refuges Waiting rooms/toilets for women ghats, bus shelter Separate womens room and toilets in 74 UP complexes

Viet Nam HCMC MRT: Gender Action Plan


Output Tranche 1 Output 1& 2: Site facilities, capacity development Output 3 & 4 Integrated urban transport Tranche 2: Output 1: Construction of MRT2 main line & depot facilities Output 2: MRT2 Rolling stock & metro services Key Activities & Targets New facilities with gender design features e.g. separate male/female toilets 20% civil works jobs for women Gender-responsive design: street lighting around MRT station, schedules and ticketing, options to suit multiples short trips/inter-modal transport usage Marketing campaign to target women as users Station design features e.g. womens waiting spaces, separate toilets, shop spaces for female-owned businesses, child friendly access 20% civil works jobs for women, gender core labor codes in contracts 30% jobs women - OM, ticketing, station attendees Rolling stock design e.g. women only carriages, child seating, storage space e.g. for prams/shopping

Basic Infrastructure for women


In Bhutan Rural Electricians Training Program sent rural Bhutanese women to India to train as solar engineers - to install and maintain home solar energy systems After training they installed and maintained home solar systems resulting in reduced workloads for women; start small enterprises making candles, soap, mats for sale In Bangladesh inexpensive village cell phones enabled women to run profitable businesses save time traveling to markets for goods which may not be available. In Nepal Rural roads increased access to schools and hospitals, improving educational opportunities for girls, and maternal and child health In Cambodia rural WSS provided time savings in water collection (3 times a day) new community pond provided closer access and released time for more productive income-generating activities ponds sand filter assured that water given to their children is safe for drinking. In Timor-Leste Road Project employed 55% women unskilled workers women were trained in road construction and maintenance women have decision-making power over their finances - spent their incomes on food, clothes and school fees

Potential Negative Gender Impacts


Increased volume of traffic may result negative impacts on women and girls health, security and safety. Improved roads and connectivity: increase rural-to-urban and labor migration may have potential negative impacts on rural women, for example, more poor, disadvantaged, female-headed households. Labor migration increases the risk that returning male workers will transmit HIV/AIDS to rural women and children. Expressways may divide a community impacting on kin and social networks and areas to services and economic activities. Establishments of constructionsites and influx of outside workers can lead to cultural influences, new diseases and negative social impact. Resettlement has disproportionately negative effects on women and there are least likely to benefit from compensation Opening up previously remote or isolated inhabited regions increases the spread of HIV/AIDS, and other communicable disease. Trafficking of girls and women increases, especially in localities near major highways and cross-border corridors. The risk is greatest in areas where women have low status and where there is widespread poverty

Project Design Settings Approach


HIV Prevention Package
Construction Sites Entertainment Settings Mobile Populations Local communities

Behavior change and communication Strengthening medical services Provision of medical packages (commodities) Workplace HIV Prevention Program factories, casinos, mines Anti trafficking campaigns
Targets young women; sex workers; construction workers, migrant and mobile groups, truck drivers, military personnel HIV Prevention and Infrastructure in GMS

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http://www.adb.org/ Gender/

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