A consolidated reply of experiences and examples shared by various members of the Solution Exchange Water Community
From Surabhi T. Mehrotra, JAGORI, New Delhi
Posted 6 April 2010
I work with JAGORI, a Delhi based feminist resource and training center, on an Action Research Project on Community Women’s Rights and Access to Water and Sanitation in two resettlement colonies of Delhi (see: http://www.jagori.org).
Following large scale evictions and resettlements in Delhi in the last few years, we have been working in two resettlement areas on women’s rights, ending violence against women, and access to the public distribution system, water, sanitation, drainage and other services. JAGORI undertook a study in 2007-08 (http://jagori.org/our-activities/research/presentation-of-our-research-findings), that highlighted the concerns of women in Bawana about access to water and sanitation services. Later, JAGORI held a public hearing on the issue in 2008.
In March 2009, JAGORI initiated action research in Bawana (North West Delhi) and Bhalaswa (North East Delhi) in partnership with Action India (http://www.actionindiaworld.org). The focus of the project is to address the ‘gender service gap’ in water, sanitation, hygiene, solid waste management and drainage. We want to deepen our understanding of how poverty, tenure, access to water and sanitation impact women’s lives, livelihoods and well-being in the two communities.
The community women are part of the core team, planning and identifying the key problems, discussing action research methodology, establishing monitoring services and documenting the findings. The next phase is to build women’s leadership capacities on governance so that they can negotiate with local government and service providers to discuss and evolve effective mechanisms to ensure gender-sensitive WATSAN services.
In this context, we request the Water Community members to give their inputs on existing urban community-based initiatives where women have negotiated with the local government for effective and gender sensitive WATSAN services. We are specifically seeking information on:
- Examples or case studies based in India with a focus on leadership development of women for effective gender-sensitive WATSAN services.
- What are the difficulties faced in these initiatives and what are the final outcomes?
This information will provide us the insights and difficulties faced in such initiatives. We will build on these experiences to evolve effective mechanisms for these two communities. We will also use the information to prepare a policy brief on gender issues in WATSAN in urban areas and share this with the community.
Responses were received, with thanks, from
1. Surendra Kumar Yadav, Vikram University , Ujjain
2. Depinder Kapur, India WASH Forum, New Delhi
3. R. Mohanasundar, Arghyam, Bangalore
4. Kumar Rajnish, Sulabh ENVIS Centre, New Delhi
5. Prakash Kumar, SEI-UNICEF, Delhi
6. Sharadbala Joshi, Freelance Development Consultant, Bhopal
7. Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow
8. J. David Foster, Administrative Staff College of India , Hyderabad
9. Kulwant Singh, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Kenya
Further contributions are welcome!
Since the 1970s, the Delhi government has regularly relocated the poor working class from slums in core area of the city to its periphery. There are arguable benefits to this in the form of better housing for people but the scale of relocation has usually meant that water and sanitation services are inadequate, poorly maintained and badly located.
Women, who are the primary water providers, have an extra burden to carry as a result since they spend more time to access water. Additionally, there are few toilets for women and those that exist suffer from a lack of maintenance and security. One of the main reasons for bad water and sanitation facilities in these resettlement areas is that women are usually not part of the process of planning and implementation.
This happens because of negative perceptions about women, their role and abilities. Decision makers are often unaware of gender concerns and assume technical matters are gender neutral in some way. Gender crops up in the selection of ‘beneficiaries’, but even here, they seldom consider intra-household inequalities. Often, gender specialists lack sectoral knowledge, in this case, specific information about water and sanitation.
UN-HABITAT developed a strategy and action for gender mainstreaming in water and sanitation. Its sets out gender equality to mean the different behaviour, aspirations and needs of women and men are considered and valued equally. Gender equity, “on the other hand, means fairness in the treatment for women and men”. Gender mainstreaming is a strategy to make both women’s and men’s concerns an integral part of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and social spheres. It requires that unequal gender relations be addressed both as a cause and factor in the intensification of poverty. The strategy also brings in the issue of Women’s Agency, that is the capacity of women for autonomous action in the face of constricting social sanctions and structural inequalities, when deciding how to mainstream gender.
In two resettlement colonies of Delhi , a study by WaterAid found community standposts are the main source of water and the average duration of water supply is 1-5 hours a day. Women in these colonies spend at least an hour a day to fetch water. While few households pay for the water, the study found they are willing to pay is water supply is assured. This reflects their understanding of the ‘real cost’ of water; fetching water has an opportunity cost.
Regarding sanitation, a majority of the households have individual toilets but these are based on inappropriate or redundant disposal mechanisms that affect the sanitary environment of the colony. There are community toilets, but women do not use them as they are ill-kept and unsafe. The study found households prefer individual toilets and want them connected to the sewerage system.
Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu, shows a way out of this crisis. Its model of community-managed toilets with bathing and washing facilities is an example of a partnership between sensitive city authorities, communities and NGOs, working together to address these problems. Women are central to the entire process. Similarly, in Udupi, Karnataka, women’s self-help groups have taken the lead in solid waste management. In Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, the community, civic bodies and local NGOs have constructed an all-women’s ecosan complex has been constructed; women caretakers manage the facilities. Thus, in addition to giving women a forum for asserting their leadership, SHGs are also a source of finance for constructing toilets.
There are several other examples where women’s participation in providing urban services has empowered them. In Ahmedabad, Gujarat under the Slum Networking project the main achievement was empowerment and transformation of women from a slum. They have learnt to plan and manage programmes and now train women from other slums. Projects in Pune (construction of community toilets) and Indore , Madhya Pradesh (enhanced capacity of women to set up and manage SHGs) also show how women’s involvement empowers them.
One of the challenges is the financial sustainability of the community toilets in Tiruchirapalli. Smaller ones, and those with low usage, are financially unviable and require external support from the city corporation. Other challenges include political interference in the appointment of caretakers, frequent transfers of city corporation officials, using innovative and energy-efficient toilet design, resistance from sweepers, security of the toilets, and the high cost of household toilets and water connections.
NGOs are the key in all these initiatives. They also face a steep learning curve when starting a project, and difficulties in establishing initial contacts in a new area. Interactions with the government are another challenge while starting out. Women from poor households have to be included in decision making even if SHGs are involved.
The situation in Delhi is likely to be more challenging given the scale of the problem and the fact that the resettlement colonies are on the city’s periphery. Women have to travel long distances, sometimes 30 KM, to their place of work on top of the responsibility of fetching water and finding the time to relieve themselves. If the authorities can recognize their needs and work with them to plan water and sanitation services, it will go a long way to improve their quality of life.
Ahmedabad Slum Networking Project (SNP) empowers women to manage water and sanitation services in slums, Ahmedabad (from Sharadbala Joshi, Freelance Development Consultant, Bhopal )
The SNP implemented in partnership with Saath and Gujarat Mahila Housing SEWA Trust ensured capacity building of women from the Pravinnagar-Guptanagar slum. Women were involved in the planning of Saath programmes. This involvement built their capacities to plan and manage programmes and train women in slums. As a result they have learnt to manage over 140 anganwadis, and manage water and sanitation services in the area. Read more.
Bhartiya Gramin Mahila Sangh trains women to build and maintain WATSAN facilities, Indore (from Sharadbala Joshi, Freelance Development Consultant, Bhopal )
The Bhartiya Gramin Mahila Sangh implemented a project with UN-Habitat and WaterAid under which the capacity of women were enhanced to initiate and manage self help groups, to build WATSAN facilities. Many women were trained in construction, one woman participated in three different masonry training programmes. She has now started taking up construction of household toilets, earning about Rs. 800 to 1500 for each construction. Read more.
Tamil Nadu
All women sanitary complex built and maintained by women runs successfully, Cuddalore (from Prakash Kumar, SEI-UNICEF, Delhi )
An all women ecosan sanitary complex has been constructed in close association with the community and civic bodies which was constructed and is being managed by women caretakers. For the project the land was allotted by the civic body with funding support from an NGO. Women were part of the project since its planning stages. This effort has been very successful in involving women and ensuring that the complex is also well maintained.
Gramalaya helps women to build and maintain community toilets, Tiruchirappalli (from Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow )
When a WATSAN project was started here women were not cooperative to begin with. However, since Gramalaya involved them in planning, design, implementation, follow up and during O & M, the process became sustainable. Once the community toilet was constructed it was operated, maintained and run by the SHGs. Gramalaya and the women's federation were also successful in redressing their greievances with regard to running the community toilet. Read more.
From Depinder Kapur, India WASH Forum, New Delhi
Profiling “Informal City” of Delhi - Policies, Norms, Institutions & Scope of Intervention
Report; by Kishore Kumar Singh and Shikha Shukla; WaterAid India; New Delhi; 2005;
Available at http://www.wateraid.org/documents/delhi_study.pdf (PDF; Size: 2.51MB)
It attempts to understand the context in which the urban poor live in Delhi, and the role of slum women in providing water and sanitation services in their dwellings
Tiruchirappalli Shows the Way-Community-Municipal Corporation-NGO Partnership for City-wide Pro-poor Slums’ Infrastructure Improvement
Report; by Gramalaya and WaterAid; New Delhi; September 2008;
Available at
http://www.wateraid.org/documents/plugin_documents/tiruchirappalli_shows_the_way.pdf (PDF; Size: 613KB)
Describes the work done by Gramalaya where community toilets are managed by women’s groups and their economic viability
SulabhENVIS Newsletter-Women in Urban Slums Steering Innovative Management of Hygiene and Sanitation Issues: A Case Study (from Kumar Rajnish, Sulabh ENVIS Centre, New Delhi)
Newsletter; by SulabhENVIS Centre; New Delhi;
Available at http://sulabhenvis.in/download/newsletter/newsletter_July-Sept06.pdf (PDF; Size: 2.15MB)
Focuses on an urban community-based initiative where women have negotiated with the local government for effective and gender sensitive WATSAN services
Strategy and Action Plan: Mainstreaming Gender, Water and Sanitation (from Sunetra Lala, Research Associate)
Report; United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); October 2006; Permission Required: No
Available at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr/res-09110901.pdf (PDF; Size: 892KB)
Elucidates the work done by UN-HABITAT in Madhya Pradesh on community based water management, also provides a highlight of water management projects in slums
Recommended Organizations and Programmes
From Kumar Rajnish, Sulabh ENVIS Centre, New Delhi
Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, New Delhi
Mahavir Enclave Palam-Dabri Road , New Delhi 110045; Tel: 91-11-25031518; Fax: 91-11-25034014; sulabhinfo@gmail; http://www.sulabhenvis.in/
Has conducted a study which focuses on leadership development of women for ensuring effective and gender-sensitive WATSAN service
Ministry of Environment and Forests, New Delhi
Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road , New Delhi 110003; Tel: 91-11-24361896; envisect@nic.in;http://moef.nic.in/modules/about-the-ministry/introduction/
Funded a study on how women in urban slums are steering innovative management of hygiene and sanitation issues
From Sharadbala Joshi, Freelance Development Consultant, Bhopal
Saath, Gujarat
Initiatives for Equity in Development, O/102 Nandanvan V, Near Prerana Tirth Dehrasar, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad 380015, Gujarat; Tel: 91-79-26929827; Fax: 91-79-26929821; mail@saath.org; http://www.saath.org/saath/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=99&Itemid=71
Implemented the Ahmedabad Slum Networking Project, which is aimed at capacity building of women to build and maintain WATSAN facilities
Mahila Housing SEWA Trust , Gujarat
401-402, Akashganga Complex, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009, Gujarat ; Tel: 91-79-26560558; Fax: 91-79-26560536; mahilahsg@gmail.com;
http://www.sewahousing.org/index.php?p=Urban&c=t&gallery=UrbanActivities;
Involved in several infrastructure development projects with slums, including development of water and sanitation services
Mahila Milan, Maharashtra
52 Miami Bhulabhai Desai Road , Mumbai 400026, Maharashtra ; Tel: 91-22-3096730; Fax: 91-22-4950505;
This collective of women has empowered women, established democratic decision-making vehicles and used its own resources to improve WATSAN services
Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres, Maharashtra
PO Box 9389 , Bhulabhai Desai Road , Mumbai 400026, Maharashtra ; Tel: 91-22-23865053; Fax: 91-22-23887566; sparc@sparcindia.org; www.sparcindia.org
Involved with the construction of toilets with women's groups and slum dwellers in Maharashtra
Shelter Associates, Maharashtra
Flat A/17, Sarasnagar Siddhivinayak Society, Opposite Nehru Stadium, Behind Anand Mangal, Karyalaya, Shukrawar Peth, Pune 411002, Maharashtra; Tel: 91-20-24440363; Fax: Fax No. info@shelter-associates.org; http://www.shelter-associates.org/urbansanitization.html
Works with women in informal settlements to facilitate and provide technical support to community-managed housing (slum rehabilitation) and infrastructure projects
Bhartiya Gramin Mahila Sangh, Madhya Pradesh
173, Silver Oaks Colony, Annapurna Road , Indore 452009, Madhya Pradesh; Tel: 91-731-482974; Fax: 91-731-258974; kavachindore@gmail.com
A national-level voluntary organisation established in 1961, works with women to enhance the capacity of women to initiate, register and manage self-help groups
UN HABITAT, Tamil Nadu
5th Floor (East Wing), Thalamuthu Natarajan Building , ( CMDA Building ), Egmore, Chennai 600008, Tamil Nadu; Tel: 91-44-28411302; Fax: 91-44-28516273 unchssp@md2.vsnl.net.in; http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=1
As part of its Water for Asian Cities Programme, initiated a project which capacitated women to construct and maintain toilets in slum dwellings
1st Floor, Nursery School Building, C-3, Gate-1 Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070; Tel: 91-11-46084400; Fax: 91-11-46084411; wai@wateraid.org;
Initiated a project in Madhya Pradesh where women were encouraged to initiate and manage self help groups, and were trained in the construction and maintenance of toilets
Gramalaya, Tamil Nadu(from Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow)
C-62 B, 10th cross, Further West extension, Near water tank, Thillainagar, Tiruchirapalli 620018, Tamil Nadu; Tel: 91-431-4021563; gramalaya@hotmail.com;
Has been operating in the slums of Tiruchirappalli on promotion of Self-help Groups , construction of low-cost latrines and safe water supply through micro-credit
From Sunetra Lala, Research Associate
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Maharashtra
Plot No. C-24, “G” Block, Bandra-Kurli Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai 400051, Maharashtra; Tel: 91-22-26530094; Fax: 91-22-26530060; contact@nabard.org;
Is aiding in implementing a watershed project in a slum locality in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh involving community action towards water conservation
Integrated Research and Action for Development (IRADe), New Delhi
C-50, Chhota Singh Block, Asian games Village Complex, New Delhi 110011; Tel: 91-11-26495522, 55646622; Fax: 91-11-26495523; jparikh@irade.org; http://www.irade.org/
Is working on water management, storm water, drainage and disaster management and has started working on issues of water availability in urban slums and urban poverty
KfW Bankengruppe, Germany
Charlottenstrasse 33/33a, Berlin 10117 Germany ; Tel: 49-30-202640; Fax: 49-30-202645; info@kfw.de;http://www.kfw.de/EN_Home/index.jsp
Offers support for sustainable improvement in social and ecological living including environmental protection, funded the watershed project in slums in Andhra Pradesh
Recommended Portals and Information Bases
India Water Portal, Arghyam, Karnataka (from J. David Foster, Administrative Staff College of India , Hyderabad)
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/post/2198/; Contact Vijay Krishna; Tel: 91-80-41698941; portal@arghyam.org
Explains how although water supply in virtually all Indian cities is heavily subsidized, very few BPL (Below Poverty Line) families and those in slums have household connections
Related Consolidated Replies
Adaptive Capacity Building of Slum Women to Deal with Deteriorating Availability and Quality of Water, Sakshi Saini, Institute of Home Economics, New Delhi (Examples; Referrals). Water Community, Solution Exchange, India,
Issued 15/12/2009. Available at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr/cr-se-wes-09110901.pdf (PDF,Size: 71KB))
Inputs on instances of water management interventions by women at the community level which have been successful
Surendra Kumar Yadav, Vikram University , Ujjain
Women’s jurisdiction is more on issues like access to the public distribution system, water, sanitation, drainage and other services rather than men. So, women are more sufferers. There is need through intervention, education and training to develop these weaker women section to develop the qualities of leadership. Not all, but certainly, some women shall come up and acquire leadership quality.
Depinder Kapur, India WASH Forum, New Delhi
Thanks for posting the presentation of the study on Bawana slums that looks into the working conditions of the slums in Bawana industrial area of north-west Delhi . The study is very useful as it shows the worsening trends in livelihoods and living conditions, even when industrial employment is touted as an advantage for Bawana like slums.
The research is timely and there are few NGOs that do this kind of research and remain focussed on service delivery options instead. Or there is an effort to further understand the poorest amongst the poor, by several donors and this miserably fails to capture the larger trends and directions within which the poorest of the poor originate. Menstrual Hygiene is also studied as a separate topic by many NGOs and not seen as part of the livelihoods, working conditions and rights perspective. It is good to know that the study has local women as an integral part of the team.
There are two studies you can refer to for your work:
http://www.wateraid.org/documents/delhi_study.pdf. This study has a very useful analysis of the governance and administrative context of Delhi . It is the only study that shows the complexity of Delhi city in terms of the different categories of residential colonies, the different level of service provision for water and sanitation and also includes a survey on Bhalswa region. It also suggests programming options for NGOs that are city wide and not slum level.
http://www.wateraid.org/documents/plugin_documents/tiruchirappalli_shows_the_way.pdf on the work done by Gramalaya NGO for Trichy town. Community managed urban toilets by women’s groups is not only documented as a process but the economic viability of these is also analyzed.
The experience and analysis in the Trichy report provides some specific learnings to make demands for sanitation services from the state, that can be of help to Jagori and can be used as a basis for expanding them further. I am listing out some of the key ones:
- Infrastructure support for community management of public toilets
- Supporting with renovated or new infrastructure of community toilets at 100% government expense
- Not just toilets but also bathing and washing complexes, provision of bores and electricity connections
- Linking with sewer lines and with Septic disposal where sewer lines are not there
- Not to be given out to contractors for management but to local community groups (not NGOs either)
- Operations and maintenance
- Lower charge or free supply of water and electricity to these community toilet complexes – as was provided to Sulabh toilets by several municipalities
- Very low and affordable user charges (in case of Trichy the usage by children, old, extreme poor and destitute was free)
- Where usage levels are low(less than 200 toilet users per day), these toilets cannot break even and need support
- Incentives for community management
- Some government scheme and rules that provide for community managed toilets. This includes incentives for the formation of such community managed institutions: capacity building and learning, some operational cost in the first year
- No additional burden or cost is put on the community management by the local municipality or authority – in terms of additional responsibility for cleaning and waste disposal within the slums – in return for the management right
- A Federation of such Groups to negotiate at the larger level with the Ward/City Municipality.
You are right, the process and difficulties faced by the WAVE Federation in Trichy are not documented in a report. Perhaps Jagori can make a visit and do this documentation!
A Position Paper on Urban water and sanitation with reference to women, that can become a citizen’s charter for demanding water and sanitation services as a right in urban areas, will be a good initiative. The 2009 Urban water and sanitation policy and JNNURM – do not address this. The issue of public toilets in a city like Delhi and more water points for people to quench their thirst is also completely missing. Delhi used to have a rich heritage of piaos or public water taps that has completely been dismantled now. The same situation prevails in all major cities in India with its semi arid hot climate – the poor are the worst off when basic services are curtailed.
R. Mohanasundar, Arghyam, Bangalore
I visited Udupi Municipality in Karnataka 2 days back and saw that the Women self help groups (SHGs) are taking the lead with regard to the Solid waste management of the town. There are about 7 SHGs involved in the collection of Solid waste. They are supported by the municipality and run with the help of revenue generated from tariff on solid waste from households.
Kumar Rajnish, Sulabh ENVIS Centre, New Delhi
We at SulabhENVIS Centre, patronized by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India, have done a case study on:Women in Urban Slums Steering Innovative Management of Hygiene and Sanitation Issues. This study focuses on leadership development of women for effective gender-sensitive WATSAN services. It is an urban community-based initiative where women have negotiated with the local government for effective and gender sensitive WATSAN services.
The detail study is available on SulabhENVIS Website: www.sulabhenvis.in and http://sulabhenvis.in/download/newsletter/newsletter_July-Sept06.pdf
Prakash Kumar, SEI-UNICEF, Delhi
It is very difficult to find a good project with involvement of urban community and for that matter urban women community with civic bodies for a fruitful dialogue on WATSAN service in city slum and resettlement colonies across India . What is happening is the top down approach of civic bodies for the provision of WATSAN services which is more often inadequate to the urban community without considering the specific requirement of women folks. There are manifold problems involving urban community in WATSAN sector and some of the important issues are:
- lack of space for construction of individual household toilets and for that matter community toilets.
- cohesiveness of urban community group in these colonies are very poor because of different migratory locations and thus different cultures.
- not seen as a community problem and at best ignored
- limited technological options
In my opinion for a fruitful dialogue between the urban communities especially the women the first task is to increase the cohesiveness of the group and then to start dialogue with the civic bodies for the redressal of their WATSAN demands.
There is handful of good examples and the one is at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu where all women ecosan sanitary complex has been constructed in close association with the community, civic bodies and NGO and it is also being managed on day to day basis by women caretaker. This complex has facility of toilet, bathing and cloth cleaning and working well. In this particular project the land was allotted by the civic body and with funding support from an INGO the toilet complex was built and managed by women community. The women were part of the project since planning. The choice of technology was also important in this case and ecosan concept was selected for closing the loop on sanitation.
Sharadbala Joshi, Freelance Development Consultant, Bhopal
Wherever water and sanitation projects are implemented through community based groups, women are generally involved in decision making, as are local Government Departments and engineers. Thus, community based groups have to interact with representatives of local Government either in the field or during formal meetings (if the NGOs insist on their presence). Although men play an important role in initiatives that involve construction, it is the women who go from house to house to convince other women about the ‘authenticity’ of the project and the benefits that will be derived on completion of the works. The most prominent examples of women interacting with local governments are:
1) The Ahmedabad Slum Networking Project (SNP) that was implemented by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) in partnership with Saath and Gujarat Mahila Housing SEWA Trust. Each NGO handled the participation and capacity building inputs as per its own approach to development. The most prominent achievements in empowerment and capacity building of women is the transformation in women from a slum called Pravinnagar-Guptanagar, with whom Saath had been working prior to the initiation of the Ahmedabad SNP.
About 5 to 6 women were involved in annual and quarterly planning of Saath programmes and this involvement built their capacities - not only to plan and manage programmes, but also to take-up the responsibility of training women in slums in Ahmedabad and other cities. Over 15 years’ of Saath’s association with these women, they have learnt to negotiate with Government Departments at different levels, register/ follow-up on registration for a cooperative, manage over 140 anganwadis (of AMC) and file an RTI. This is besides assisting formation of other CBOs, conducting training in PRA, conducting Focus Group Discussions and participating in slum surveys. Two comments that highlight how the women have been empowered and become part of the mainstream are:
- According to an AMC engineer, if you met these women outside the slum, there is no way you could identify them as slum women.
- According to one woman, when she attends meetings/ workshops on microfinance, she is the only slum resident representing the NGO’s work while the other participants are NGO staff. She too has been told that she does not ‘talk or dress’ as a slum woman.
While both the comments highlight people’s ‘expectations’/ ‘misconceptions’ of how women from slums talk or dress, they also indicate qualitative indicators that are used by the women to show their inclusion in the mainstream.
2) The Pune based Mahila Milan/ NSDF groups that took community contracts for the construction of community toilet blocks (1997 onwards). SPARC, NSDF and Shelter Associates were involved with this initiative. The capacity building was achieved through exchange visits with other Mahila Milan and NSDF groups that were involved in previous initiatives of the SPARC-NSDF-Mahila Milan Alliance, and Shelter Associates. A comment that highlights how the women learnt to interact with the Municipal Corporation is:
- Before this initiative, we would visit the Municipal Corporation to demand water supply etc. If we met the Municipal Commissioner, we would all talk at the same time and not get anywhere. However, after our interactions with one of the Municipal Commissioner’s, we realised that we had to present our problems clearly to get a response.
3) In Indore, where the Bhartiya Gramin Mahila Sangh was implementing initiatives under a partnership project between UN-Habitat’s Water for Asian Cities Programme and WaterAid, the capacity of the women were enhanced to initiate, register and manage self-help groups, and for those with basic construction skills to build more complicated structures.
- While many women were trained in construction, onewoman participated in three different masonry training programmes where she learnt how to construct circular septic tanks, and cast beams and columns. Gradually, she started taking-up contracts for construction of household toilets in the settlement and other areas, earning about Rupees 800 to 1500 for construction of each toilet. Since the construction takes about 4 to 5 days, her average earning per day is Rs 200. When she gets work for constructing several toilets in a few days time, she hires daily-wagers to assist her. This way, her income has increased substantially. The introduction of savings activity under Self Help Groups provided her an opportunity to start saving as well as to access loans. The woman says she now works for about 4 to 8 days in a month at her convenience. She has learnt how to communicate with people and dresses much better.
In each case, the role of the NGO in accepting the women as partners, giving them responsibilities and having them participate in discussions/ interactions with outsiders have been important. Many women have commented on opportunities of meeting with ‘important’ people who come to see the developments in their slums and who interact/ discuss with them the processes followed for bringing about the changes. This highlights the fact that when development specialists visit slums, they should be aware about the indirect influences of their interaction with the poor/ women.
There are several difficulties faced by women when they become active in/ start participating in NGO led activities within a slum, even if they have been working on construction sites as labour or as labour for any economic activity managed by a man in the slum. The ways in which some NGOs address such opposition are:
- Encourage at least one man to join the women in an activity. The man has to be an observer and take-up some responsibility.
- At the initial stage when the NGO is not known in an area, conduct activities in open rooms – for example, health activities, running an anganwadi etc. This enables men and other slum residents to check-out/ keep an eye on what is happening. Once the credibility of the NGO is established, such supervision/ checks do not occur.
- In terms of interacting with local government representatives, regarding supply of water and sanitation services, it is essential that the women are informed about the organisational framework and people responsible for providing services in their areas. This information is relatively easy to get from the elected representative of the area or sanitation workers who come to a settlement. Alternatively, the NGO needs to visit the Ward/Zone Offices to identify individuals who are responsible for providing services in an area.
Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow
As reflected by Depinder, Gramalaya demonstrated how women's group can lead and sustain the change. When the project started the women's were not cooperative as they understood that it is NGO led but when they were involved from planning to designing, implementation, follow up and during O & M the process was sustainable. When the community toilet was constructed it was operated, maintained and run by the SHGs. The municipalities were confident that the women will not be able to sustain running of the community toilet and were not cooperative to them in undertaking services like supplying water (at first it depended on tankers and after which a BW was created), emptying the septic tank as agreed but in few months their confidence was shattered. Gramalaya and the women's federation represented their problems till the top level, they got noticed and after some time it was only a call and all the grievances with regard to running of community toilet was attended to immediately. The federation was able to bring all local issues with regard to running of community toilet.
The federation needs to be capacitated and also create good interface between them and service providers and officials. When the groups at first instance see that the interface between them and service providers solves their problem, none can stop them.
The difficulties faced by the federation was more from outright rejection by officials to ridicule but a constant motivation, follow up, capacity building helped federation achieve their outcomes. The projects need to work to travel hand in hand sometime.
Also in Bhopal the women groups led from the front and helped in creating a sustainable and safe water source.
J. David Foster, Administrative Staff College of India , Hyderabad
As one who has worked in the water sector in Asia for many years, it is very clear that water and sanitation are women's issues. Women are typically the designated water carriers as well as those most directly involved with problems of water and sanitation. And yet, when it comes time to develop water and sanitation policy, they are typically the last ones consulted.
Where this is particularly obvious is when water is provided for the poor. Policy makers (invariably an upper class person and usually a male) determine that household connections are "too expensive" for the poor and that therefore water should be provided "for free" via public stand posts. Unfortunately, the only way in which someone can conclude that water obtained from a public stand post is actually cheaper than water delivered via a household connection is if they put virtually no value on the time of the person carrying the water. The following link provides a ready example of the real cost of "free water" as well as an interactive spreadsheet in which the reader can easily insert their own numbers to estimate the real costs involved. http://www.indiawaterportal.org/post/2198
What quickly becomes evident is that even if the policy maker values the time of the woman or girl at only Rs 1 per hour, the water provided for poor women is still the most expensive water in town. This cost represents what economists refer to as "opportunity cost" and reflects the value of alternative uses that women and girls could make with that time wasted in carrying water. This time, for example, could be used in attending school, making handicrafts to sell in the market, working as a laborer, carrying for a sick child or elderly parent. This time clearly has real value! As further proof of the real value of this time, when the city of Vijayawada gave poor families a choice between having "free water" at a public stand post vs. water charged at regular municipal rates at a household connection, over 90% of the poor families chose to have the household connections and to pay for their water.
Consequently, my first recommendation regarding water and sanitation policy would be to encourage policy makers to do the following:
- Include representatives of BPL women in all decision making groups and
- Evaluate the real cost of "free water" both to the women carrying it and to the city.
Kulwant Singh, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Kenya
UN-HABITAT had formulated a strategy and action plan for mainstreaming Gender for water and sanitation so that women are involved in the planning process from the very beginning. The process of implementation of this strategy is on with some very interesting results to enable poor households to get piped water supply in their premises.
Many thanks to all who contributed to this query!
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