Shauch, Sharam, Samajikaran,Swabhiman
CURE India undertook a participatory research study across ten settlements in Delhi, and the
findings and recommendations were shared at a roundtable discussion on 23rd August 2022
in Delhi. Community representatives, NGOs, INGOs, CSR representatives and practitioners
from the field participated in the deliberations. The research approach used three frameworks
to evaluate the findings of the research - the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) lens,
Feminist Political Ecology Theory and
Reflexive Grounded Theory.
The qualitative research methodology
sample consisted of 201 low income
women and young girls, and 48 men and
boys across ten informal settlements in
Delhi.
The research has attempted to bring out
the interplay of toilet and sanitation
access with the socio-cultural-economic
influences that define urban poor women
and young girls’ lives, voice and
negotiation abilities.
The major findings of the study have been that women from informal communities were
found to experience a:
a. Deep sense of shame (SHARAM) embodying their communal sanitation experience;
b. Debilitating impact of this shame on their identity and dignity (SWABHIMAN)
c. Disempowerment and a consequent poverty trap accompanying bad sanitation
choices (SHAUCHALYA).
The research has also brought out that amongst the low income families, even in households
with availability of the finance required for the construction of an in-house toilet, the
construction of a toilet was not a priority, signalling a socio- cultural influence in decision
making.
The study also revealed that in clusters where community toilets were prevalent as popular
means of relieving oneself, there was an inherent fear of sexual assault or harassment which
ranked high across age groups, along with the issues of the waiting time, odour and challenges
of using the community toilets during menstruation.
Another finding of the study shared that around 3% of participants, about 6 women, accepted
open defecation as the means of relieving themselves; the number was higher for men at 11%.
Apart from this, the study also made an effort to realise how women were experiencing their
menstrual cycles and what kind of period products were being used by them. The cloth napkin
continued to be a popular instrument across the sample particularly in women. The menstrual
cycle was also studied through the feminist lens and themes of taboo, hygiene and trauma
was observed to understand the everydayness of women’s sanitation experiences. This also
led to another significant insight that some women had been told on period hygiene by their
mothers-in-law which indicates towards early marriage.
The findings around menarche also brought about themes of how difficult, undignified and
shameful the menstrual cycle or those 5 days were for women and girls who had no access
to a private functional toilet.
The study has also shown that the embarrassment of using toilet spaces or going out in the
open frequently to relieve themselves led women to consume less food and less water which
has long term health consequences and also impediments their growth as a productive and
informed member of the society.
The study has provided key insights regarding the use of sanitation practices, products and
overall hygiene for women and young girls in settlements in the urban expanse of Delhi. The
one significant hurdle to the overarching hunger, need and aspirations of women to live better
and productive lives was access to safe and hygienic sanitation.
The key findings of the report indicate that empowerment of women, their right to live decent
and productive lives and construction of safe and functional house hold toilets are intertwined
and therefore, sanitation as a segue to women’s empowerment needs to be recognized and
integrated into India’s sanitation discourse.
The research has been conducted with the support of the Gender Equality and Social
Inclusion (GESI) Research Grant by Institution of Development Studies (IDS),
University of Sussex.
