Our Watery Commons
Text from Nemainis (2012) '
Hydrofeminism: Or, On Becoming a Body of Water'
Water is a classic example of a common 'resource' , shared across all individuals in a certain locale, where the use by one person reduces the availability for another.
Despite India recognising universal rights to water for all its citizens, effective access is regulated through a complex system dating back to British colonial laws which ties the right to water to the ownership of land. (My land, My water)
Not only does this create uneven access for different people, marginalising landless and low caste communities as well as women, but also ignores the very deep inter-relations that tie together human and more-than-human entities as interconnected and dependent on water for our welbeing.
For this reason, fights for decoupling water rights from land ownership, have been at the front and center of many environmental and farmer movements, including those campaigning for women's farmers to be recognized in their identity as farmers and cultivators. See for instance the work of MAKAAM (http://makaam.in/), a nationwide informal forum of organisations and collectives of farming women.