Gender, infrastructure and insecurity

Prabha Khosla, Gender and Development Expert

Introduction Inadequate and inappropriate infrastructure, facilities and services such as drains, water supply, toilets or collective toilet blocks and solid waste management in low-income communities are a hazard to womens and girls safety, security, dignity and well-being. Furthermore, insufficient and inappropriate infrastructure, facilities and services take up a significant amount of womens and girls time and energy and often at the expense of going to school or earning some income. It also increases the ill-health of women and their families, and forces the loss of meagre income on health costs. Gender and Essential Services in Low-Income Communities: An Action Research Project on Womens Rights and Access to Water and Sanitation in Asian Cities, explored the nexus of womens safety and security, gender-insensitive infrastructure, and the gender gap in governance through a two and a half year action research project. The project was carried out from February 2009 to July 2011 between Women in Cities International in Montreal, Canada, and Jagori, a womens training, communication and resource Centre in Delhi, India. The project was supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. Research Question The overall objective of the project was to adapt and test the womens safety audit (WSA) methodology for its use in low-income communities and to explore if the adapted methodology could be used to address the safety and security problems associated with inadequate and gender-insensitive water supply and sanitation (WATSAN) services in the Jhuggi Jhopri (JJ) relocation colonies of Delhi. Other research questions included: 1) To identify how poverty, tenure, water access and sanitation, and lack of access to other services, impact womens lives, livelihoods and well-being in the target countries and cities using the womens safety audit, as well as other qualitative methodologies (i.e. focus groups); 2) To contribute to the methodological development of the womens safety audit, particularly with respect to its use in WATSAN research through a peer-reviewed paper in a major international journal;

3) To develop a set of gender appropriate WATSAN options for each of the test communities and to promote it through dissemination packages/activities for local governments and other relevant stakeholders; and, 4) To develop and implement individualized intervention projects in at least one of the selected communities in India to test research results. The Womens Safety Audit (WSA) The womens safety audit is a methodology developed in the field of womens safety in urban settings. It is a participatory tool that aids in identifying factors that increase womens vulnerabilities and assists in generating solutions to address these vulnerabilities. The process empowers women, and aids in the development of partnerships between women in communities, womens groups and local governments. It is a methodology that can generically be classified as including the following steps: women unite around vulnerabilities in local environments often prompted by an act of violence against a woman or girl or due to on-going perceptions of vulnerability or fear in certain parts of the neighbourhood. After identifying concerns about their built environment, they contact relevant local government officials councillors, planners, utilities providers, etc., to engage them in addressing the vulnerabilities; they identify the geographical area they are concerned about and develop a map of the area with a corresponding list of the issues that concern them; the women then organize and lead a Womens Safety Audit (WSA) walk in the identified area. Officials accompany the women and listen to their assessment of their urban environments; after the audit walk, the women and the officials meet to discuss changes in the built environment to reduce or eliminate vulnerabilities. Contextualizing Delhi the site of the research With globalization and economic liberalization, cities are witnessing a continual recasting of spaces and citizenship. The development of world class cities has created exclusive enclaves and gated communities for the rich and elites and deliberately excluded the urban poor from secure lives and neighbourhoods. In Delhi, the poor are cast as criminals, not considered legitimate citizens and pushed to the periphery of the city. Over the last many years this continuum of evictions and forced re-settlements has led to increasing urban poverty, loss of livelihoods, homelessness, increased violence and exclusion of poor women and men and others from marginalized communities. Research indicates that women and children suffer the most in the process of evictions. Furthermore, the slum dwellers who have been evicted over the last ten years or so, have been re-located to smaller and smaller plots, without security of tenure and with collective infrastructure and facilities instead of household connections for water and sewerage. This is in contrast to earlier re-settlements where the evicted had security of tenure, larger plots and water and toilets in their homes. Increasingly, the sites of evictions become malls and entertainment complexes for richer residents. Thus, evictions did not take place to make land available for the common good such as the expansion of public transport or the creation of green spaces. The re-organization of the city for exclusive uses has impacted spaces such that many no longer lend themselves to diverse uses which has consequently increased the sense of insecurity in the city. Jagori studies estimate that more than 70% of women face sexual harassment in the public spaces of Delhi.i

The action research was undertaken in Bawana and Bhalswa - two colonies of recently evicted and re-located slum dwellers. The Research Sites

Bawana Located in north-west Delhi, Bawana was created in 2004 and is an on-going site for re-settling evicted slum dwellers. Residents living in JJ colonies/slums from Yamuna Pushta, Dhapa colony, Banuwal Nagar, Saraswati Vihar, Deepali Chowk, Vikaspuri, Nagla Machi, and Jahangirpuri were evicted to this site, about 35km away from their homes (See map.). The plots in Bawana were assigned only to those who could prove their identity and who possessed proof of residence. People who lived in Delhi before 1990 were given 18m2 plots, while those who had lived in Delhi since 1990 and before 1998 were allocated a plot of 12.5m2. While government population figures are not available, Jagori staff estimates the population of Bawana to be more than 150,000. Bhalswa Located in North Delhi, adjacent to the Bhalswa landfill. Bhalswa was created in 2000. It has an estimated population of 25,000 and is no longer receiving evicted slum dwellers. Most people residing here were evicted from the north and east of Delhi from communities such as Yamuna Pushta, Gautampuri, Barapulla, Nizamuddin, I.T.O., and Rohini, about 10 20km away. Residents were allotted plots of either 12.5m2 or 18m2, based on their years of residence in Delhi.

Water Supply Bawana Most pipes are in drains or next to drains and contaminate drinking water. There are no household connections for water and the place was not designed to put them in. Water is available three times a day at roughly designated times. The water points do not have taps, so once women and girls have collected all the water they need, the water keeps running and overfills drains, is wasted and causes muddy streets. Muddy streets make movement in the lanes difficult. Usually there are line-ups for water. Girls who collect water in the morning said they often do not have time to eat before school. The line-ups are stressful for women and girls and often there are conflicts between women in the line-ups. As this is untreated water there are some health concerns about water quality. Bhalswa In Bhalswa there is a large water body where ground water has mixed with sewerage, solid waste, and animals living and dead. It is a filthy water body that is a perennial problem and not addressed by anyone. At the beginning of the action research, tankers used to come once in 510 days to deliver water to residents. The tankers only arrived after they were asked for by the informal political leadership in the community. Thus, there was no regular supply of water and only a very limited supply of piped water, which too was intermittent. Some residents had set-up pumps, but all that they were able to pump up was leachate. This water was used for washing clothes, utensils and bathing and sometimes drinking. People with jobs in South Delhi brought drinking water all the way home in 2 litre plastic soda bottles. These are heavy to carry to their homes as the bus and the main road are far from where residents live. There is no water treatment in homes. Needless to say, there are numerous health problems and even deaths due to lack of safe potable water. Drains In both communities there are many complaints about drains. It is the primary problem due to the intense contamination (flies, mosquitoes, filth, stink) in their home environments. The drains were not designed or built properly. In many places water flows back on to the lanes. And the smaller drains in the residential streets do not flow smoothly into the larger drains on the main roads. Often they back up from the larger drains. The drains on the main roads are not connected to any sewerage or drainage system of the city. They empty onto fields and water bodies in the communities. Women and girls complained that they had difficulty moving in the lanes, they were dangerous as one can slip and fall anytime, and the filth made managing a clean home environment near impossible.

Solid Waste Management There has never been any system of solid waste management in the 10 years of Bhalswas history. In both communities, solid waste clogs the narrow and shallow drains overflowing on to the lanes. Drains are open and there are only a few municipal workers available to clean them. The mess caused by the drains on the lanes makes lanes very difficult to navigate in any season. The terrible conditions of the lanes also provide an easy opportunity for boys and men to harass girls and women. They use the garbage piles in the lanes as an excuse to brush up against girls. Girls cannot run away from unsafe situations as the lanes do not permit a quick escape. During power outages, it is impossible to walk down the lanes with any feeling of security and safety. Collective Toilet Complexes (CTCs) The opening and closing times of the CTCs are not suitable for many people, young and old. Charges for use of toilets, for bathing, and for washing clothes are too high for many families, as quite a few of them live on less than 50 US cents a day. The CTCs are filthy, sometimes do not have doors, or they are broken, or the latches are broken, there is no place for menstrual waste disposal, the floor is usually wet, the roof open, and boys and men often peep in. Children under 6 are not allowed in and use the drains as their toilets. Open defecation at night is easier for men and boys than women and girls. Women and girls are fearful of going out at night on their own. The management of the CTCs has been contracted out by the Delhi government and residents cannot get accountability for their proper maintenance. While government policy is not to charge poor residents for the use of toilets, this is not being applied to such poor colonies of evicted slum dwellers. In Bhalswa, only two out of the five CTCs are operational. No one sees it as their responsibility to fix and open the other three CTCs. Over the years, attacks against and rapes of women and girls were reported in both the communities. Women eat and drink little very little in the evening to avoid going out at night. They live in fear of having to go out at night; and also feel ashamed to have to defecate in the open. As the settlement has grown, the open spaces have diminished and now women use newspapers in the lanes at night. Community organizers estimate that up to 40% of households in both communities have built private toilets in their homes for use by female household members only. These toilets have small septic tanks and thus cannot be used by all members of the household as the costs of cleaning out the septic tanks are too high for most of them. Single women have obtained loans from their credit circles to build toilets in their small homes so they can protect their daughters from assault. For the cost of a toilet in the home a young woman can avoid marriage and go to school and college. Young women are being married in their late teens for fear of rape and not being marriageable. They cannot go to college even thought that is what they all want to do. Such findings highlight the need for gender-sensitivity in services provision and local governance.

The Adapted Womens Safety Audit The information above and additional data presented here on the link between inadequate infrastructure to womens safety and security was collected through the following recommended steps:

Womens NGOs and community women familiarize themselves with urban policies and service agencies. Rapid situational assessment of existing infrastructure mapping of existing infrastructure assessing what works, does not work and what the problem is. Interviews with key informants service providers. Focus Group discussions women, girls, men and boys In-depth interviews scoping marginality and accessibility (caste, religion, age, ability and so on). Womens safety audit walks. Capacity building of women in communities to develop strategies to engage with and negotiate with elected officials and service providers. The adapted Womens Safety Audit is available as - A Handbook on Womens Safety Audits in Low-income Urban Neighbourhoods: A Focus on Essential Services. It is available in Hindi and English. It is designed for use by womens groups, watsan NGOs, and CBOs in their own communities. It can also be used by local governments who would like to address the issues of the safety and security of poor women and girls in their towns and cities. To download free copies of the Handbook click the following URLs. www.femmesetvilles.org/pdf-general/idrc_hanbook_wsalow-income.pdf or http://jagori.org/wpcontent/uploads/2006/01/Handbook1.pdf Some positive outcomes Bawana Negotiations with solid waste workers have led to better solid waste management in 5 blocks and much better relations with the sanitary workers and the communities; There is a significant change in the community in terms of attitudes to women and girls and their safety and bodily needs; There has been some reduction of harassment around CTCs and some caretakers are more considerate but boys and men continue to have access to roofs; Women developed a CTC design with the modifications they wanted, but there are still no renovations of CTCs to suit their needs; An extensive capacity building process was undertaken to enable women and youth to make changes in their local environments; and An unexpected outcome was the enthusiastic involvement and commitment of young women and men in the community to the action research and to create solutions. Some positive outcomes Bhalswa Sufficient water is now available for all residents through a combination of piped water and a significant increase in water delivery through the water tankers; A vacant and filthy area is being converted into a park; A limited system of solid waste collection is in place for the first time in the 10 years of the JJ colonys existence;

1 CTC area has been cleaned-up and the caretaker is responsive to women. Still, only 2 CTCs are functioning out of 5; Some drainage work and road repairs have been undertaken; There are now committees of five women in all the lanes to monitor infrastructure and services and to mobilize all residents should services stop or reduce from current levels and to organize the residents for better services; and Young women and men made an enormous contribution to the action research and in organizing for positive changes in their communities. The Governance Disconnects The governance architecture in Delhi is highly fragmented and there is a lack of gendersensitivity in policies and urban planning. Re-settlement colonies for evicted slum dwellers are like camps for internally displaced people. They have not been planned as new neighbourhoods of the city which they are. These new areas should have been planned with appropriate infrastructure before people were re-settled here. The new re-location areas include temporary infrastructure, poor design, no security of tenure, and only include the provision of collective services and facilities such as water points and collective toilet blocks or no services at all. For example, pubic transport has been very slow in coming to these areas. The costs of poor sanitation are high. They include the lack of safety, dignity, privacy for women and girls, environmental contamination, and ill-health. There is no budget line in Delhi government utilities for watsan for poor communities money for portable water for example, comes from grants from the national or union government. Recommendations from the Research The key recommendations from the research are summarised as follows: Residents in re-location colonies should be given land titles and preferably joint titles for both heads of households, the women and the men. Services such as water and toilets should be de-linked from security of tenure. The provision of these services is more critical for women and girls than for men and boys. Existing insufficient and inappropriate infrastructure should be made gender-sensitive and permanent. This includes the installation of sewer lines, household connections for water and sewers, solid waste management with composting, redesign and covering of drains, rain-water harvesting; and repair lanes and roads. Collective Toilets complexes (CTCs) should have gender-sensitive design and management. The existing ones should be renovated to ensure womens and girls safety, privacy, dignity and also address Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). More money and stable budgets are needed for essential services in low-income communities. Health and safety in communities is dependent on womens time, labour and loss of livelihoods, which in effect means that poor women are subsidizing

insufficient government services. The government is spending Rs.30 (US$.66) on water and Rs.80 (US$1.78) for sanitation per Jhuggi Jhopri colony resident 2011-12. Women and young women and men should be centrally involved in all planning, design and rehabilitation efforts, policy reform, and the creation and management of infrastructure, facilities and services. Safe, hygienic and affordable public toilets must be provided as part of government services across the city with MHM, and for all social classes of women. In the interest of creating a sustainable Delhi it is important to explore de-linking water from sewage management in large human settlements. Discretionary funds allocated to elected officials for development projects need guidelines for priority-setting, transparency, and ensure the involvement of especially low-income women in decision making. All new areas for re-settlement need pro-poor gender-sensitive infrastructure, facilities and services.

The Project Report will be available on the websites of Jagori, Women in Cities International and IDRC by the end of 2011. Please check the websites of these organizations by using the full name of the project.

For the studies click here: http://jagori.org/our-activities/material-production-and-dissemination/jagoripublications/

The views expressed in this paper are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.