Gender and Peri-urban water security

As geographical areas subjected to rapid urbanisation and constantly  changing land use, peri-urban sites offer women and men greater economic opportunities.At the sametime,peri-urbanresidents are also drawn away from traditionalmeans of livelihood.As the city encroaches into prime agricultural lands in the fringe areas,occupations become more subsistence in nature.  This increases women's workload. Often women, who migrate from rural areas after marriage and settle in peri-urban zones,face enormous challenges in accessing water. In peri-urban contexts,water is shared and accessed informally by most stakeholders and users.This research brief underscores challenges,hazards,and opportunities in accessing water resources and  their gender consequences. The paper investigates four South Asian peri-urban resource-constrained locations and focuses on changing gender relations in peri­urban areas.