World Toilet Day 2020

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As World Toilet Day is coming up on the 19th November I thought it was important to talk about the importance of water and sanitation facilities. In my previous blog posts, I have focused around rural communities and their struggles to access water resources, today, I will focus more on urban African communities. As urbanisation has quickly transformed much of the global south, it is now estimated that 1 billion people live in informal settlements globally (UN Habitat, 2020). These informal settlements often are characterised by limited water and sanitation facilities although they have vibrant with innovation. In this blog I will discuss the importance of water and sanitation facilities in general but also specifically for women and also the violence women face accessing these facilities looking at a report from Nairobi, Kenya. 

Water and Sanitation for Women 

Sanitation is often determined inadequate due to the lack of water resources but for a long time, this linkage was ignored by mainstream development practices. In the Millenium Development Goals, there was little mention of sanitation issues, usually, it was hidden behind the need for clean water. However, once the Sustainable Development Goals rolled around in 2015 sanitation was highlighted in Goal #6 which was 'clean water and sanitation' (Jewitt, 2011). Sanitation, and particularly urban sanitation, has now become a key concern associated with urban poverty. It is estimated that 2,195 children die every day because of diarrhoea (CDC, 2020). This is mainly because of unsafe water and inadequate sanitation which means people are unable to wash their hands before they eat or after they've been to the toilet - two key steps identified to prevent the spread of germs. 

These impacts are particularly felt by poor women and girls, who often experience inequalities in the access to water and sanitation services (UNESCO, 2020; UN Water, 2020). For females the ability to go to the 'toilet' is not just a public health matter but more so one of personal safety and dignity. The phrase "Water is life, but sanitation is dignity" is especially true for women when it comes to menstruation, showering and pregnancy (Thieme, 2018). For many women and girls in Africa being on their period means not attending school (WaterAid, 2018). With no access to pads, tampons, or a toilet it is extremely difficult to manage their periods - not to mention the cramps and normal side effects of periods. Period poverty is one of the main reasons girls prematurely drop out of school. In some cases girls who are vulnerable or whose households are desperate for the income will turn to sex work in order to have the money to buy sanitary  pads. If women had better access to and could safely use toilets near their homes they could manage their periods with dignity and not be submitted to the shame and sanctions sometimes forced upon them by people in their communities. 

Young girls and women learn how to use a cotton sanitary towel as part of a hygiene awareness project in Morondavo, Madagascar.

Source: WaterAid

Women's Lack of Safety and Access to Essential Services

Women's vulnerability to violence is increased because of the scarcity of essential sanitation services, they are likely to be abused and attacked walking to the toilet during the night (UN Water, 2020; Amnesty International, 2010). A study in Nairobi, Kenya investigated this issue regarding women's safety whilst using sanitation facilities. It found that 68% of people living in informal settlements in Nairobi shared toilet facilities with other households, in some cases up to 150 people. Women who were interviewed said that even walking over 100 metres to use a toilet during the night is dangerous as the areas are not well lit due to a lack of electrification therefore it is an easy opportunity for men to rape or sexually assault women (Amnesty Internaitonal, 2010). Due to these risks the 'flying toilet' is now commonly used by women as they don't have to leave their house, but this solution doesn't help with women who are menstruating. Furthermore, other solutions proposed are women using facilities in groups or asking male relatives to accompany them but this is not always possible for women such as those from female-headed households. More importantly, women shouldn't have to take these precautions they should have the right to use a toilet without the risk of being attakced. 

Women's unique circumstances and demands for sanitation services highlights the importance of embedding gender equality into the development of water and sanitation for all, which in turn will help advance many other parts of the SDG agenda, particularly education and work (UN Water, 2020).

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