'Water is a Women's Issue'
"Water is a women's issue" (TED Talk: 2016) - Welcome back to my blog concerning sanitation insecurity around the world. This quote concisely sums up what I will subsequently discuss, the video inspired me to dedicate this blog solely to women's experience of sanitation. It is useful to deconstruct these wider issues which is why this second blog continues by introducing the matter of sanitation and women.
Caruso et al (2017)* propose a novel term for the absence of adequate sanitation in all capacities, 'sanitation insecurity'. The condensed version of their definition is 'insufficient and uncertain access to socio-cultural and social environments that respect and respond to the sanitation needs of individuals, and to adequate physical spaces and resources for independently, comfortably, safely, hygienically, and privately urinating, defecating, and managing menses'.
Whilst menstruation is experienced universally, 'girls in resource-poor areas face unique challenges related to menstruation management' (Secor-Turner, Scmitz, and Benson, 2016: 301)*. Khanna and Das (2016, as cited in Winter et al: 2019)* argue that without the provision of safe spaces nominated to provide hygienic conditions for women's menstrual and sanitation needs, women are exposed to risks and consequences such as 'missed days at school and higher risk of toxic shock syndrome and vaginal infections'. Plainly, due to physiological aspects as well as cultural ones, women and girls are particularly affected by sanitation insecurity. According to the Global Water Pathogens Project, the way that this restricted access to sanitation affects women includes but is not limited to: women having to wait until it is dark to use the toilet which can be dangerous, women drinking less water to avoid having to use the toilet which can lead to dehydration, urinary-tract infections and so on. During a woman or girls menstrual cycle the need for sanitary items becomes even more vital, if school or work places do not provide the right conditions and facilities then women may be forced to stay home because they cannot manage their periods which leads to lower productivity(Water Pathogens).
Figure 1(Unicef)
Figure 1 allows us to visualise the inordinate the proportion of women and girls
who bear the duty of fetching water - often having to do so multiple times a day. If we add this to the number of girls who are forced to miss school due to a lack of adequate sanitation, we can see just how gendered the issue is. The consequences of these poor sanitary conditions for women and girls can be highly detrimental to their lives and futures. In Nepal, studies show that 41% of girls miss out on school during menstruation (Global Citizen) and similarly, it is estimated that girls in Kenya miss nearly 3.5 million learning days per month(Secor-Turner, Schmitz, and Benson, 2016: 301).
On the whole, few facts are known about the precise amount of water needed to 'maintain a minimum standard of hygiene' (Carter, Tyrell and Howsam: 1999, 293)* and more specifically, there remain few gendered solutions to the sanitation issues in the Global North, especially within informal settlements. Across several articles based on studies in different parts of Africa, I have found the conclusions to be largely concurrent and emphasising the link between poverty, gender and education. Sector-Turner, Schmitz and Benson (2016: 305) summarise by noting that 'culturally responsive and contextually appropriate interventions' can and should be developed. During a study focused specifically on female sanitation, it was also recognised that increased toilet access 'enables a choice but not a solution' (Caruso et al, 2017), women expressed worries about their experiences of periods and defecation beyond the need for a functional toilet, the problem is much more complex than this and therefore the solutions need to be.
Even upon further probing of the sixth sustainable development goal 'clean water and sanitation for all'(UN), there is no mention on the UN website of the unequal gendered consequences that result from sanitation insecurity. Maybe it is this simplified understanding of sanitation that invites one-size-fits-all solution models when in reality there are vastly different implications for different groups of people.
*Caruso, Bethany A, Thomas F Clasen, Craig Hadley, Kathryn M Yount, Regine Haardörfer, Manaswini Rout, Munmun Dasmohapatra, and Hannah Lf Cooper (2017) 'Understanding and Defining Sanitation Insecurity: Women’s Gendered Experiences of Urination, Defecation and Menstruation in Rural Odisha, India', BMJ Global Health 2.4.
(2019) 'Not just any toilet – women’s solutions to sanitation in informal settlements in Nairobi', Development in Practice, 29(1), pp.15-25.
*Carter, R. Tyrell, S. and P.
Howsam (1999) ‘Impact and sustainability of community water supply and
sanitation programmes in developing countries’ Journal
of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, 13(4),
pp. 292–296.
This post is very thoughtful and touches on a number of key issues that will no doubt merit further discussion. When referring to a reference by more than two authors, do use "et al." (et alia in Latin) to keep author listings compact. Reference lists are fine but do also consider the use of hyper-links to cite the peer-reviewed literature as well as popular fora. Keep up the information-rich posts.
ReplyDeleteThank you Richard.
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