In Sanitation, Put Women In Charge

Context:  Enhanced role of women in sanitation is a key to Swachh Bharat Mission’s success.

Impact of women in sanitation: Uttara Thakur, a differently-abled panchayat head from Chhattisgarh, was determined to improve sanitation services in her village. She went door-to-door to motivate people to use.

Efforts to push for enhancing the role of women in sanitation: Under Swachh Bharat Mission

• States are expected to ensure adequate representation of women in the Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs, for optimal gender outcomes.
• Swachh Bharat Grameen Phase I guidelines (2017) recommended that 50 % of the members of Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) should be women.
• Bringing Behavioural Change: The government has effectively used over 8 lakh swachhagrahis, mainly women, who, for small honorariums, work to push through behavioural change.
• Sustainable Development Goals (Target 6.2): Emphasized paying special attention to the needs of women and girls.
• Television programmes: E.g. Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon, a Doordarshan TV series, aims to improve people’s awareness and promote shifts in social and gender norms around the use of toilets.
• Inspiring other women: to take complete charge as they seek to achieve a healthy and dignified life for themselves and their families.
  • E.g. In Jharkhand, trained women masons built over 15 lakh toilets in one year and helped the state achieve its open defecation free (rural) target.

Way forward: For a successful Swachh Bharat.

• Create a national monitoring and evaluation system:  To track and measure gender outcomes in SBM.
• Improve design, implementation, and measurement of sanitation programmes.
• Focus on behaviour change and gender: Rather than just on building infrastructure.
• Create effective communications and training programmes: to build the capacity of stakeholders on gender targeting, both on the supply and demand sides of interventions.
• Increase access to micro-finance: interventions with groups like India Sanitation Coalition (helped link micro-finance with self-help groups); to drive livelihoods (through incomes) well-being with Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) programmes.