Target 5.5: Ensure women's full participation and equal opportunities for leadership.
The Problem In drought-prone Bundelkhand, women carry the burden of fetching water but have had little say over how it is managed.
The Move They Made In 2011, Sanjay Singh of the NGO Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan set up the Jal Saheli ("friend of water") programme, with early funding from the European Union and later support from Welthungerhilfe. Women volunteers are trained in water conservation and water rights. They form village water councils (pani panchayats) and lead the revival of ponds, wells and streams.
The Proof By around 2024 there were about 1,530 Jal Sahelis across 321 villages in Bundelkhand. Earlier reporting credits them with helping build 1,780 water structures and with making 106 villages water-sufficient. In 2021 the Prime Minister praised Jal Saheli Babita Rajput for reviving a lake in her village. Uttar Pradesh's Jal Sakhi scheme, launched in 2023, drew on the model.
Your Move The women carrying the water had no seat where water was decided. Map who decides on your target and who is missing, then train the people who are missing.
Sources
