Women in Sanitation

Launched in 2020, IIHS-TNUSSP’s Women in Sanitation (WIS) campaign is dedicated to discussing and challenging women’s issues in the sanitation sector throughout the year. Founded on the belief that these issues deserve continuous attention, WIS amplifies the often-muted voices of women working across the sanitation chain in public, private, and informal spaces. The campaign strives to be increasingly intersectional, capturing the evolving nature of women’s roles in this industry.

Reflecting the theme of International Women’s Day each year, the campaign collaborates with institutions worldwide to challenge stereotypes and biases, embrace equity, and inspire inclusion. To date, WIS has documented the stories of over 50 cisgender and transgender women sanitation professionals, as well as their male allies. What began as a state-level initiative has grown into a national and international campaign, featuring participants from Sierra Leone, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Nepal, and Australia.

Through partnerships with national and international organisations, WIS brings forth powerful stories of women sanitation professionals in the form of articles and films. These narratives, shared in their own words, highlight their journeys of survival, empowerment, and success, offering insights into how we can work towards a more gender-equitable future.

Stories of Change

“Stories of Change,” a vibrant new addition to the Women In Sanitation campaign, uses a series of blog pieces to showcase the journeys and accomplishments of Tamil women leaders shaping the sanitation landscape of the state. The series dives into their personal and professional triumphs and honours the profound impact they have brought to their communities.

Women in Sanitation Films

We have women professionals, playing critical roles at almost every stage in the sanitation cycle – at the frontlines, as entrepreneurs, as technical experts, as administrators and in many other roles. The Women In Sanitation films take a moment to acknowledge, recognise and celebrate them.

In this month's #WomenInSanitation series, catch a #shero from our own #Chennai city, Anjali, Leader of the Velachery TNHB Area Level Federation who has spearheaded the maintenance of a clean and accessible toilet, and enabled behaviour change in hundreds of users.
Krishna Maya Karki is the Chairperson of Batawaraniya Sundar Nepal Pvt. Ltd., a #wastemanagement company she founded which currently employs 400 workers, ~200 of them women. Not only does she break gender stereotypes by being a woman entrepreneur in a male-dominated sector, but she encourages her women employees to stay on at this job, despite their families and society frowning upon them working outside the household.
Social anthropologist Catarina Mavila Magaia, for instance, brings to the fore culturally driven #menstrualhealth concerns in the country of Mozambique. She discusses the normalisation of #periodpain by families, forcing young menstruators to endure it and carry on with their daily activities. She stresses the importance of bringing forth such information to the public eye so menstruators become aware of the motives that drive #menstrualpractices in the country.
For Ayesha Sheikh, what started as a curious visit to the @MynaMahilaFoundation transformed into a passion to make change. Ayesha is currently a Lead Trainer at the Foundation, working primarily towards maximising its 'Sponsor A Girl' programme. Ayesha points out the challenges young menstruators face (lack of period knowledge, poor access to sanitary products, period stigma) and the slow but sure change her work is bringing to #menstrualhealthmanagement.
Yati Desai is the Director of Special Projects at the Desai Foundation Trust. She works out of Valsad and Navsari in Gujarat and leads one of the Trust's flagship menstrual equity programmes, 'Asani.' Yati talks about the myths and stigma surrounding menstruation in India and the work she and her colleagues do to dismantle these through awareness sessions on menstrual health and hygiene practices.
When I conduct research interviews, women hesitate to open up in the presence of their husbands. They find it difficult to discuss their daily experiences," says Marcia Saica, a sanitation professional from Mozambique. Marcia's work ranges from making such research discoveries by surveying sanitation workers and women to enabling behavioural change in the community. She points out that men are most often missing in the sanitation landscape of her country and talks about women-led efforts that promise change at the grassroots level.
Refusing to be influenced by common notions regarding what is considered 'appropriate' work for women, Girija is confident about her choice of career. Watch her talk about the long-lasting change of equitable access to toilets for the women in her community.
Jamiatu Sesay presents the unique sanitation context of her country and questions the unfair burdens that fall on women. She points out the stigma that surrounds menstrual health management in her community and discusses the sensitisation work she does to bring change.
The life of Indumathi has been one of continuous resilience – even before she began her work in the sanitation sector 18 years ago. As a sanitation entrepreneur now, she urges other sanitation professionals to aspire for career growth within the sanitation space.
Eva Muhia, Director of Varet Products and Deputy President of the PASA speaks about the imbalance she noticed in women's roles within the “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” (WASH) space and shares the stories of women who changed this narrative.
Sabita Adhikari, a WASH professional, an environmental engineer with a specialisation in sanitation, and a PhD Fellow, talks about her motivation for working in sanitation, the challenges she faces as a woman in STEM and the importance of empirical research for better sanitation policy and practice.
C Vasanthi has been working with the GoTN for 25+ years and currently leads the waste management and sanitation aspects of the Swachh Bharat Mission in the state. Listen to her talk about the challenges young women in the industry face, and the need for more women officers in this sector.
Tim Ndezi is the Founding Director of the Centre for Community Initiatives (CCI) in Tanzania and a strong ally for women's empowerment in the sanitation sector. Tim speaks about what it would take to make everyone realise the contributions women make to the sector.
Turning any business into a success comes with its own challenges. And if you are a woman working in the sanitation sector, the challenges can be steep. Hasiru Dala brings to you Gowramma’s story of courage and perseverance.
We’ve all seen solid waste management workers going door-to-door collecting waste. Arivazhagi started off as one, faced many challenges, broke biases and is now managing a micro-composting centre.
Here is a story from Biome Environmental Trust about how a group of women from Karnataka, led by women, desilted storm water drains and in the process, helped increase groundwater levels.
Do women administrators in urban local governance face unique biases? Listen to Dr.Yazhini share her unique experience serving as the Chief Health Officer during the pandemic and what women’s day means to her.
Menstrual Health Management is associated with many biases and stigma in society. In a community where women face many restrictions, Neetu broke several biases to lead an all-women enterprise that produces safe absorbents. Here’s a story by Environics India
"I wake up early in the morning. So naturally I end up taking care of cleaning the toilets," says Soukeyna Diouf Mbaye, President of the Association of Resourceful and Supportive Women of Saint-Louis, Senegal. In this film, Soukeyna narrates how a typical day looks like for her and how gender based biases and stereotypes make toilets a responsibility of women.
"I used to get out at 5 am and be out till 6 or 7 to find a place to defecate, because I won’t get a private space as men would be walking nearby," says Nishaben. Here is her story on how the organisation Mahila Housing Trust (MHT) helped Nishabhen and other women in her community break the biases around individual household toilets.
TNUSSP has been running the 'Women in Sanitation' campaign for the past two years. Here is a video of the best moments and the most powerful voices from the previous two editions of the campaign.
Aravalli is one among the very few women who work as de-sludging operators. Despite facing a plethora of challenges because of the double bias of working as a de-sludging operator and being a women at that, Aravalli has risen above all of this to be role-mode entrepreneur in the sector.
Challenging stereotypes. Fighting biases. Broadening perceptions - This is what Kamala does every single day, apart from maintaining a community toilet. This is her story.
Saranya is one of the first woman Fecal Sludge Treatment operator in Tamil Nadu. In a male-dominated job, Saranya navigates through all the biases and enjoys her work.
The kind of biases that Prema has faced as a community toilet cleaner are too many. Yet, Prema does her profession with utmost dedication and has turned the maintenance of the community toilet into a sustainable source of income for her self-help group.

In the Media

Campaign to Showcase 'Women in Sanitation'
March 8, 2023
To overcome gender stereotype and inspire women, the Tamil Nadu Urban Sanitation Support Programme (TNUSSP) will launch a digital campaign, Women in Sanitation', on the occasion of International Women's Day that falls on March 8, featuring women, from various parts of the country.
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The Women in Sanitation campaign: Celebrating women sanitation professionals
March 7, 2023
Women’s participation in the workforce is often under-represented in both informal and formal roles, which is a serious concern.
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Women blaze new trail in rendering sanitation services in Tiruchi
August 21, 2021
A day at work is no ordinary achievement for K. Aravalli, 45, who is one of five women professionals paving a way through the male-dominated field of sanitation service providers in Tiruchi.
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Invisible Sanitation, Invisible Women
March 8, 2021
As I write this, I am painfully aware that more than half the country is younger than I am, and hence may not have seen Sholay.
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COVID-19: Sanitation Workers Require Access to Menstrual Health
June 9, 2020
COVID-19 has brought to the fore a section of frontline workers who have till date been relegated to the margins.
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SHG women keep community toilets in slums operational
May 2, 2020
Self-help group (SHG) women are rising up to the occasion and operating community toilets in the city despite the fear of Covid-19 spread.
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A job with good cause helps TN women make ends meet amid lockdown
April 23, 2020
Last month, when the nationwide lockdown was announced, 42-year-old Krishnakumari was worried about how she was going to afford groceries for the next 21 days.
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Women's Day: How these women are cleaning the country up, literally
March 8, 2020
IIHS and TNUSSP have come together to to celebrate our women working in the sanitation department and have launched a social media campaign to bring more attention to their work
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Campaign gives women in sanitation their due
March 3, 2020
For International Women’s Day, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements is launching a two-week social campaign on ‘Women in Sanitation’.
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Resources