Tuesday, 11 February 2025: Potohar Organization for Development Advocacy (PODA), in collaboration with WaterAid Pakistan, organized a workshop in Karachi to promote gender-responsive and climate-resilient WASH policies. The event brought together Sindh Assembly Members, civil society leaders, and water experts to discuss the urgent need to include women in water governance. 

Sindh Minister for Women Development Ms. Shaheen Sher Ali, Members of the Sindh Assembly, including Ms. Tanzeela Qamrani, Ms. Nida Khuhro, and Ms. Yasmeen Shah, also attended and shared their insights. The event featured speakers such as Ms. Sameena Naazir, Executive Director of PODA, Mian Muhammad Junaid, Country Director of WaterAid Pakistan, Ms. Raheema Panhwar from WaterAid Pakistan and Dr Fozia Perveen,  Dr Fozia Kanwal from PODA.

The workshop highlighted how rural communities, especially women and girls, suffer the most from climate-related water challenges due to inadequate WASH services. Speakers stressed the need for women’s leadership in water governance to improve climate resilience. The event aimed to identify policy gaps and promote collaboration for sustainable solutions. A rural participant shared, “The belief that fetching water is only a woman’s duty must end now.” Women must be recognized as key stakeholders in WASH policymaking and climate resilience efforts.