Each year, IWD presents another opportunity for the Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-C) to spotlight amazing Caribbean women in water and share their views on important water-related issues.
We asked Caribbean Women in Water throughout our Network, the following question: Time is now for equality in water access and management! How can activism empower #WaterWomen? Here’s what these #WaterWomen shared:
Dr. Paulette Bynoe - Senior Lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Guyana
"Improve ease of access to water for women and girls and improve their lives."
Katrina Khan-Roberts - President of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) Trinidad and Tobago Chapter
"Water and women share an undeniable relationship, women depending on water quality, availability and quantity, and water sources and wastewater is directly affected by the activities of women. We cannot deny the linkages and so must first seek to understand and then to manage the relationship in each unique environment, location and community to ensure that this multifaceted and site specific exchange of impacts can be sustainably maintained."
Shaneica Lester - Ph.D. Researcher at the Department of Geography and Geology, The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica {Research Area: Urban Vulnerability and Water Security}
"Activism can empower water women by highlighting the social role of women in water management."
Sharon A. Archie - Manager at the Water Resources Agency (WRA) of the Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago
“Empowering water women through activism, allows for better decisions in Water Governance."
Jessica Ilse - Forest Biologist at the Forest Service of El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico
"Women leaders show the world that ‘Yes, Women are Leaders too!’ Equality means that everyone is part of the solution, and the more that everyone is part of the solution, the easier it is to ensure that our precious water is clean and available to all our people."
Candice Santana - Hydrological Technician II at the Water Resources Agency (WRA) of the Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago
"I am from Tabaquite, a rural village close to the Navet Reservoir and that experience makes me think of water as a currency. Globally, we want this resource to be secure, valuable and stable which translates to its sustainable development. Empowering women in water today is actively safeguarding the resource, guaranteeing its availability and quality for all future generations tomorrow."
Valerie Jenkinson - Chief Executive Officer of World Water and Wastewater Solutions (WWWS), Canada
"I will not walk behind a man nor will I walk ahead. I will walk alongside as an equal. I have things to stay about the right to water and how we bring this about. I have the confidence to give my thoughts a voice -a voice that is strong and will be heard."