Toilets for the elderly and disabled

Below are stories of two women that have struggled in regards to access to public toilets, due to their physical impairment. This article on CNN highlighted to me that when we focus on gender in relation to water and sanitation, there tends to be more awareness on the negative impacts on young women and children, however there is less discourse on the struggles other marginalised women face, such as the elderly and the disabled.

For World Toilet Day last week, CNN published 7 stories of African women that speak out about their personal experiences with toilet access. I decided to choose 2 stories from a Ghanaian elderly woman and a disabled woman from Zambia.

Zenabou (83)- Lived in Kumasi without a toilet for 50 years. As she has gotten older she struggled with the distance of getting to public toilets, especially as they were not user-friendly for the elderly and the fact they were shut at 10pm. Zenabou has finally been able to get a toilet in her house, making it safe and easier for her to now use the toilet.

Susan (46)- She was attacked with Polio at the age of 2, and going to the toilet has always been challenging, especially during the rainy season, as she has to crawl to the toilets on her hands.

I found all these stories so touching and illustrates that even though progress is being made and there is more awareness towards how much a toilet affects people's lives, there is still a long way to go. 

2.3 billion people still do not have access to a safe, private toilet (Water Aid, 2015)

Click here for the full article: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/19/africa/gallery/world-toilet-day-stories-from-women-in-africa-gallery/

Climate Change and Safe Water

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/27/opinions/rall-climate-agreement-everyones-business/

Hello, i found this article on CNN, that once again talks about water issues in Kenya, however touches on the subject of climate change. It states how during the Paris Climate Change conference this year, access to clean water and human rights for women will be one of the top debates. The article smartly illustrates the circumstances of a young girl named Mathilda, that lives in Turkana, North Western Kenya, to allow the reader to empathise with the difficulties faced for these poor communities due to the rise in climate change.

"...Climate change makes certain water sources less reliable, women and girls will have to walk farther every day. And according to a recent World Bank study on Climate change, children in Africa affected by drought are less likely to complete primary school..."

It is not a man's job to fetch water.

Less than 20% of Seats in national parliaments are held by women. 

Cartoon based on an idea contributed by B. Mommen, UNICEF (WSP, 2012)

It is not a man's job to fetch water. This image illustrates how women are occupied taking part in the daily tasks of fetching water, which reinforces these notions of gendered divisions of labour in relation to water and gendered identities in relation to water management.

It is clear that you need equal participants from all different community members and a diverse range of policy makers for effective management implementation.

Take the example of the Macina Wells project in Mali:

The reason for the failure of this project was that women, who were the ones responsible for collecting water were not included in planning and they were blind to differences in gender. Therefore the equipment provided ended up being impractical for the women to use, and they ended up reverting to their own original methods for collecting water. In addition, another reason for their failure was that they didn't fulfil their management duties, because they "regarded water and sanitation as a women's business" (Parr, 2014:69).

Take another example, the water project in the Tanga region in Tanzania:

Women were not present in the planning for three reasons: 1) The meetings were held at a time that was impractical for the women to attend. 2) They were reluctant to attend because they felt the men would not take their suggestions into consideration. 3) They were not fully informed about the meetings. (Parr, 2014: 70)

Therefore this picture paints an accurate image of the general stereotypical and ignorant attitudes towards water management.

Kibera Evaluation Report

So I know I stated at the end of my previous post that I would explore the role of women in water-based management...

However, today we coincidently received an email from Ben Page telling us to take a look at UN Habitat's Integrated Water Sanitation and Waste management project publication once again, on Kibera. 

So i felt that it would be good to continue with this trend, seeing as though this region is certainly quite relevant within this discourse. Additionally, I guess it also still sticks to the plan of focusing my next post on the topic of water management.

After reading the publication, which evaluates the impact of the K-WATSAN- The Kibera Water and Sanitation project and KENSUP project- The Kenyan Slum Upgrading project, in Soweto East (see map below), it is clear that the Government of Kenya in collaboration with UN-Habitat, are addressing the key concerns towards quality of life in these informal settlements.

This study therefore involved conducting interviews, surveys and field observations, to assess the situation, impact and level of engagement in regards to project implementation and planning. It is clear that the objective of these surveys were to give the locals a voice and to consult community members, in order to ensure policies were effectively met and these measures continue to meet the needs of the residents in these slums.

Gallaher et al (2013)

From reading this publication, it seemed like they gathered positive results from the evaluative assessment. However what particularly drew my attention was that in the section analysing survey respondents, UN-Habitat disaggregated their results based on gender, putting emphasis on the importance of data collection that factors gender perspectives.

For example, Figure 6.5.3.2 illustrates the best attributes based on gender based on 381 responses, and shows that the women mentioned "community" more than men (24.6% versus 14.9%). This indicates how women in informal settlements such as Kibera, tend to have a more collective, holistic and community based viewpoint as priority. This supports why many argue that women are essential in management planning and practices in these neighbourhoods, as they are heavily involved in day to day activities and are likely to factor into consideration the needs of different groups within these communities.

All in all, one of the lessons learnt from the KENSUP and K-WATSON projects, is that there needs to be more focus on improvements in sanitation and security, which undeniably affects women considerably in these communities. Furthermore, to identify, empower and seek representatives from members of marginal groups, such as women, youth, the disabled and ethnic minorities, as they can contribute towards generating sustainable and positive outcomes in slum upgrading.

To read the full publication: http://unhabitat.org/books/kibera-integrated-water-sanitation-and-waste-management-project/