Understanding Women’s Access to Sanitation: A Study of the Slums in Delhi

Abstract

Abstract

Sanitation is an important basic right for a dignified living. About 130 million households lack toilets; even more than 72 per cent of the rural population defecate in open areas. The dearth of proper sanitation facilities is visible throughout the Indian sub-continent. Even the capital has failed to distance from this crisis. Lack of sanitation facilities causes pollution, health issues and, above all, security problems, especially for women. Women ought to go for open defecation that makes them more vulnerable towards crime. Rape, sexual assault or eve-teasing often take place in the silence of the night, and the screams of pain never come out. This paper highlights the poor sanitation facilities in slums and jhuggi jhopadi clusters in Delhi and its effect on people living there. A gender analysis framework has been used to get a wider perspective on the problems arising due to the lack of sanitation.