On World Water Day 2026, the global message is clear: Where water flows, equality grows. In Pakistan, this connection between water and gender is not theoretical, it defines daily life.
Across the country, climate change is intensifying extremes. Floods wash away crops and infrastructure, only to be followed by prolonged dry spells. In rural areas, women shoulder much of this burden. They manage households, support agriculture, secure water for domestic use, and sustain families through uncertainty. Yet their role in water decision-making remains limited.
At the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), our work in Pakistan is grounded in a simple principle: water security must include women’s leadership, knowledge, and agency.
In the rainfed landscape of District Chakwal, farming has always depended on the sky. Rainfall is unpredictable, irrigation options are scarce, and water scarcity defines every growing season. Nearly 90% of rural women are engaged in agriculture, yet their contributions often go unrecognized.
Among them is Farzana Kosar.
After completing her secondary education, Farzana chose to work alongside her father and brother on their 25-kanal family farm. Like most farmers in the Potohar region, she learned through experience, reading the soil, anticipating the weather, and coping with long dry spells. But climate variability made traditional knowledge alone insufficient.
Her farm relied on a small underground rainwater harvesting tank and a household pump. Only 18 of 25 kanals could be irrigated; the rest depended entirely on rainfall. During critical growth stages, when stored water ran out, she was forced to buy tanker water at nearly PKR 15,000 per cycle. Despite working harder each season, returns remained limited.
Farzana participated in a capacity-building session organized by IWMI under the FCDO-funded Water Resource Accountability in Pakistan (WRAP) P programme. Soil moisture sensors were installed on her farm, simple devices measuring real-time moisture levels in the crop root zone.
The impact was immediate. Wheat irrigation frequency dropped by about 33%. Vegetables required three to four fewer irrigation cycles. Electricity and labor costs decreased. Waterlogging disappeared. Crop health improved.
Most importantly, the water saved allowed Farzana to irrigate the previously rain-dependent seven kanals, expanding her irrigated area by nearly 39%. For the first time, she was managing water strategically rather than reactively.
Today, Farzana has trained approximately 3,500 women in modern agriculture and water management practices. She has guided 500 women in rainwater harvesting and supported nearly 300 households in establishing small water storage systems.
Her story shows that when women gain access to data and practical tools, they do not just improve productivity, they reshape local water governance from the ground up.
In the steep hills of Mansehra, water once meant daily risk. Women and children climbed down dangerous slopes to collect water from fast-flowing streams.
Through the introduction of hydraulic ram pumps under the UK-funded WRAP programme, water now flows uphill without fuel or electricity. Hundreds of households have water stored near their homes.
Time has been reclaimed. Safety improved. Kitchen gardens are flourishing. What changed was not just infrastructure, but opportunity.
In Balochistan, IWMI’s work under the Revival of Balochistan Water Resources Programme is supporting women and youth through kitchen gardening initiatives using drip irrigation and water-efficient techniques.
These gardens strengthen food security, build skills, and nurture leadership. Women move from being water users to water managers.
These stories share a common lesson: technology works best when paired with inclusion.
When women are equipped with knowledge, data, and decision-making space, water productivity increases. Household resilience improves. Investments last longer.
On this World Water Day, the message from Pakistan’s fields is powerful: when water flows equitably, women lead. And when women lead, resilience grows.
