Gender and village based management system in DANIDA assisted Water & Sanitation Project in Tamil Nadu

In India, the concept of gender and Village based Management System (VMS) is a recent approach in the development process for improving environment sanitation and safe domestic water. Today, the FAQ is how to mainstream gender issues and empower women in the process of local management system. The Danida assisted rural Water and Sanitation Project (WS) pilots the user financed VMS under the demand driven approach in Cuddalore and Villupram districts of Tamil Nadu since 1996. Among others, promoting gender equity is one of the special features of the project's interventions. This paper presents an overview of WS project's experiences on gender approaches implemented in all stages of project cycle, particularly in VMS. It also elucidates a few of the many success stories