Sanitation and Personal Hygiene

B. Suresh Reddy and M. Snehalatha
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B. Suresh Reddy: Research Unit for Livelihoods and Natural Resources, Centre for Economics and Social Studies (CESS), N.O. Campus, Begumpet, Hyderabad, India. E-mail: srihithasuresh@yahoo.com
M. Snehalatha: International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) Netherlands in four countries (India, Ghana, Mozambique and Burkino Faso). E-mail: sneha_sreedhar@yahoo.com

Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 2011, vol. 18, issue 3, 381-404

Abstract: Sanitation is an important index of socio-economic development. Low sanitation levels lead to a host of diseases, making sanitation a key public health issue and concomitant of a clean water supply. Based on field work in two urban slums of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, this article points out that sanitation implies much more than defecation issues and that it converges on several important aspects of life, such as shame and dignity and personal hygiene. Women themselves defined what is appropriate sanitation. Cleaning tasks are primarily performed by women who receive little support from men. We argue for the need to give women a central role in decision-making, designing, planning and implementation of sanitation programmes. Women’s definitions of the minimum standards of hygienic practices are clearly brought out by the study.

Keywords: Women and sanitation; technology and latrines; urban slums and sanitation; women in urban slums (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indgen:v:18:y:2011:i:3:p:381-404

DOI: 10.1177/097152151101800305

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