Now We Feel Like Respected Adults: Positive Changes in Gender Roles and Relations in a Timor-Leste WASH Program

This report describes research that assessed the gendered outcomes of WaterAid’s (WA) water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programming in Timor-Leste. The research was conducted in Datakolo and Manuquibia communities, Liquica district of Timor-Leste, in June 2010 in partnership between WaterAid Australia (WAA), WaterAid in Timor-Leste (WATL) and International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA). WASH issues, in common with any other development issue, are highly gendered by nature.

WASH as an issue is central to the lives of women and girls, and the active engagement of women and girls is critical to the success and sustainability of WASH investments. However, there has been a tendency for WASH issues to be viewed as technical rather than social in nature and for a long time, WASH programming tended to overlook women as critical stakeholders.