Water is the elixir of the life. For the agriculture dependent communities of arid regions, water conservation is of vital importance. In many villages Women farmers have acted as custodians of community water resources. They have taken leadership to restore local bodies and through successful management of water resources, they have brought positive changes in the livelihood of their households and the entire village community. Their journey has not been without internal and external challenges. Often, they face discouragement within the family and also in the community. In spite of that the women leaders did not give up and stood firm to proved themselves for the sake of the whole community
About the session speakers
Ms Leela Devi
Village Women Leader, village-Dharawan, Block Jhadol, DisttUdaipur (Rajasthan)
Panelist
NA
Ms Payalben Patel
Jal Saheli Development Support Centre, Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
Panelist
NA
Ms Minakshiben Panchal
Gram Panchayat member
Panelist
NA
Ms Bharati Ayer
Arid Communities and Technology (ACT), Bhuj, Gujarat
Panelist
NA
Ms Abha Bhaiya
Executive Director, Jagori Rural Charitable Trust, Himachal Pradesh
Panelist
Abha Bhaiya is one of the founder trustees of Jagori Delhi and Jagori Rural charitable Trust (JRCT), Himachal Pradesh, two strong feminist organizations. Presently she is the JRCT Executive Director. JRCT is committed to work with the most marginalized communities to support them to access their rights and entitlements. She has been active in the women’s movement for nearly 50 years. Her major contribution has been in the field of women’s social, political and economic rights; the status and the rights of single women, women’s right to health, bodily integrity and wellbeing; sex and sexualities; gender justice, food securities and livelihoods, the increasing erosion of civil rights of the poorest and a feminist perspective on sustainable development. Her major contribution has also been in the field of feminist training methodologies, developing decentralized ways of working and linking local urban and rural communities to the international arena. As a fierce activist, researcher (mainly action research) feminist trainer and campaigner on various intersectional issues, she has been active with various constituencies of the civil society. She has extensive experience of working with grassroots groups as well as with the UN systems, donor agencies, government departments and program as well as NGOs and women’s groups in India as well as in the South Asian region. At the South Asian level, she has conducted gender and other issues-based trainings in all south Asian countries including Afghanistan and other countries like Netherlands, Germany, Indonesia, Sudan, Turkey, Vietnam etc. She is one of the founders of SA network – South Asian Network of Gender Activists and trainers -SANGAT. She has co -conducted nearly 15 south Asian level month long residential courses for participants from the SA region.
She has also setup a feminist retreat center - A green Tara campus, in the mountains and has implemented a community-based program working in nearly 300 villages of the Kangra and Chamba districts of Himachal Pradesh.
She has been associated with a government program - Education of Women’s Equality since its inception (1989) as a member of the National Resource Group. The program has an outreach of nearly 50000 villages in India. She has also been on the board of national, regional, international organizations.
Mr Mohan Sharma
Chief Functionary, DSC, Ahmedabad
Moderator
Mr. Mohan Sharma
Born in 1971, Mr. Mohan Sharma is the Executive Director of the Development Support Centre (DSC), Ahmedabad—one of India’s leading civil society organizations in participatory natural resource management. With over 29 years of experience in rural development, he holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering and an MBA in Marketing, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Conjunctive Water Resource Management.
He has led more than 80 programs in watershed management, irrigation, and sustainable agriculture across India and has also served as a consultant to the World Bank. Mr. Sharma has been Director of DSC Foundation, GujPro and Krushidhan Farmer Producer Companies, and a Board Member of the Indian Network on Participatory Irrigation Management. A recipient of the Australia Awards Fellowship 2025, he is a member of the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers and a Fellow of the Aspire Leadership Circle, India.