Over the past two generations, irrigation-intensive agriculture has been widely promoted as the solution to food security challenges faced by the developing world. While irrigation-intensive agriculture has helped in some contexts, it looks less feasible as a solution when examined from the perspective of the growing water crisis. In fact, such intensive agriculture, with its close link to the global trade regime, aggravates the water crisis. Poor women bear the brunt of the water crisis, particularly in the context of rural agriculture. A gender analytic approach to the water crisis demonstrates the importance of rain-fed agriculture to sustaining food sovereignty.