Gender mainstreaming in ecosanitation Lecturer Esther van Hoeve

Gender mainstreaming in eco-sanitation Lecturer: Esther van Hoeve http: //www. linkedin. com/in/esthervanhoeve

content 1. 2. 3. 4. Defining gender – What is gender? – What is gender mainstreaming? – Why is gender mainstreaming important in sanitation? • Increase of effectiveness sanitation program • Increase of equality between men and women Gender and Sanitation in general – Gendered sanitation needs – Gendered sanitation roles Gender and Eco-sanitation – Opportunities/potentials for gender mainstreaming in eco-sanitation systems – (perceived) threats of the system towards gender equality Gender mainstreaming in eco-sanitation programs – Gender mainstreaming opportunities in the project cycle – Gender mainstreaming opportunities in the eco-sanitation system

1. Defining gender v. What is gender? v. What is gender mainstreaming? v. Why is gender mainstreaming important in sanitation? 1. Increase of effectiveness sanitation program 2. Increase of equality between men and women

Defining sexe Bill Sex= Belinda Bill and Belinda are each from a different sex, meaning that they are biologically different

Defining gender Bill Gender= Belinda Bill’s gender and Belinda’s gender are socially constructed, meaning that society attaches certain expectations and roles on each of them based on their sex.

Defining gender Gender refers to the roles and responsibilities of men and women that are created in our families, our societies and our cultures. The concept of gender also includes the expectations held about the characteristics, attitudes and likely behaviours of both women and men (femininity and masculinity). Gender roles and expectations are learned. They can change over time and they vary within and between cultures. Systems of social differentiation such as political status, class, ethnicity, physical and mental disability, age and more, modify gender roles. variables man woman Age Ethnicity Education Status (e. g. economic, social*, religious) Health (mental, physical) Location/environment (rural-urban, developeddeveloping country, mountainous-delta) Means of living (t) Time (gender roles and relations change over time) Etc. *important social aspect is the type of household (see next slide)

Example: gender roles in a household Assumption the household is male headed with one wife and children who have a common interest But in reality…. there are different types of household: male headed (with one or more wives), female headed (widow), female headed (male migration), with or without children, one or more generations (incl. in laws) or just one person (man or woman). Members have both common and conflicting interest shaped by o. a. : emotions, economic rationale, solidarity, interdependency, social norms an example of conflicting interest; the wife wants to have a toilet because of privacy and it makes her feel proud but her husband does not see the need and spends the money on a bike. Form the outside it looks like this household is not interested in a toilet but in reality at least the woman is. an example of common interest; Both husband wife feel uncomfortable when visitors come at their house because they do not have a toilet

Gender mainstreaming =. . a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the policies and programs in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated (UN Economic and Social Council, 1997)

Objective of gender mainstreaming To ensure that women as well as men can influence, participate in and benefit from development efforts aimed at improved sanitation. Ultimate goal To achieve gender equality Improved sanitation can lead to gender equality by: o. a. increase of school attendance of girls, decrease of violence against women, women suffer less from sanitation related disease, etc.

Gender needs Practical gender needs refer to what women (or men) perceive as immediate necessities such as water, shelter, food security, health care and sanitation. Strategic gender needs Interventions addressing strategic gender interests focus on fundamental issues related to women’s (or, less often, men’s) subordination and gender inequities. Strategic gender interests are long-term, usually not material, and are often related to structural changes in society regarding women’s status and equity (e. g. legislation for equal rights, reproductive choice, and increased participation in decision-making).

Why is gender mainstreaming important in sanitation? There are 2 main reasons: 1 - Environmental/community health: Sanitation programs are only effective if all people use it in the right way. Sanitation systems that are not constructed, used and maintained correctly form a great health risk to the health of the community and the environment. Therefore it is very important to make sure that both men and women are actively participating!

Why is gender mainstreaming important in sanitation? 2 – Gender Equality: 1) fulfill the sanitation needs of both men and specially women resulting in better health, dignity, safety and time saving giving the opportunity to participate more effectively in reproductive & productive activities and decision making 2) gives women the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills, participate in decision making, program implementation and management empowerment

2. Gender and sanitation in general v Gendered sanitation needs v Gendered sanitation roles

What are gendered sanitation needs? These needs are specific for the region/culture etc, the following points are therefor just examples you find in literature • • Women risk harrasment when they go out at night to defecate toilet should provide privacy and be safe (location, door, etc) Women often wait untill night to relieve themselves. appropriate sanitation facilities close to the home saves time Women are more vulnerable for desease and infections toilets should be clean and appropriate for pregnant, menstruating women (water for washing) and accessable during the day Girls drop out from school when they start menstruating appropriate sanitation system on schools available Appropriate for children and their helpers (size, space) Specific sanitation needs of men are rearly assessed and therefor not known Men do have more options to relieve themselves as they work outside the house and are less socially restricted to urinate outside Reference: (Susan. A, 2009) Integrating a gender aspect in sustainable sanitation- draft safety habit of defecating/urinating hygiene menstruation/ pregnancy

Gendered Sanitation Roles • Women are responsible for the sanitation of children, the sick and elderly • Women teach their children about health and sanitation habits • Women more often clean the toilet than men • In general men construct latrines • Emptying of pits varies between cultures helping others cleaning emptying of pit collection of water construction/maintenance teaching sanitation habits

3. Gender and eco-sanitation v. Opportunities/potentials for gender mainstreaming in ecosanitation systems v(perceived) threats of the system towards gender equality

Gender and eco-sanitation Opportunities – Waterless toilets saves time for women on water collection – Less dependant on others for pit emptying (in case of UDDT toilets) – Women are highly involved in agricultural production close to the home (both for home consumption and the market). Ecosan potentially leads to increasing food production and economic benefits – Ecosanitation sector has innovative nature options for gender inclusive design –. . . Perceived threats – Women's support can be critical for the functioning of ecosan toilets, e. g. maintenance: use of ashes (from cooking) and proper cleaning and maintenance – Water is essential for women’s hygiene. Waterless toilets are associated with no water at all and therefore not women friendly – Handling of faeces is taboo and stigmatising this is determined culturally and is gendered (article from vd Geest describes this in detail)

4. Gender mainstreaming in ecosanitation programs v Gender mainstreaming opportunities in the project cycle 1. Gender analysis 2. Gender disaggregated data 3. Gender needs assessment 4. Gender budgeting 5. Participation v Gender mainstreaming opportunities in the eco-sanitation system

Gender mainstreaming in eco-sanitation programs Project/program cycle Gender can be mainstreamed in many ways. Here we discuss two ‘approaches’. 1. Gender can be mainstreamed at different phases of the project cycle: identification, planning/design, financing, implementation and M&E. • The slides will give you an idea what type of different methods there and how they can contribute to your work • It also makes you familiar with the language that is used in these type of assessments • If you want to apply any of these methods you have to look for more specific information/ training or hire an expert in this field • One manual is included in the assigned reading ‘’Infrastructure for all (WEDC, 2007)” 2. Gender can be mainstreamed at different phases of the ecosanitation system • Slides give different questions/points of thought that are relevant in the phases of the eco-sanitation system • It helps you to think about the impact of the sanitation system on different groups of people, if this impact is wanted or not and how/if you can change or prevent this. Construction, implementation re (social)marketing use & maintenance

Project/program cycle Gender analysis Gend e analy r sis Gender disaggregated data Gender needs assessment Gender budgeting Gender disaggregat ed data Enhance participation of women as: decision makers, workers, managers, supervisors and engineers

Gender analysis The gender analysis has four main areas: 1. Gender division of labor, 2. Access and control profile, 3. Examining of influencing factors, and 4. Empowerment Collaboration Negotiation conflict

1. Gender division of labor The main task of this analysis is to examine the pattern of gender division of labor of men and women on the target site. The key questions for the analysis is: who does what, when, and where? § “Who” refers to men, women, boys, girls, and elders. § “When” refers to the time and duration the activities are performed. § “Where” refers to the location of the performance of the activities, such as office, farm, forest, home, market, school, and so forth. § “What” refers to three kinds of activities, which include the roles to be observed: i. Productive activities, ii. Reproductive and household subsistence activities iii. Community and social activities.

2. Access and control profile In this profile “access to and control over the resources and benefits” are analyzed for both men and women. It focuses on their ability and level of participation in decision-making processes concerning their own lives and the development of their community. Basic questions for this analysis : “Who has what? ” and “Who makes decisions? ” The term “What” refers to the “Resources” and “Benefits” as well as to the potentials such as elements of the natural environment and human relationships. The Resources includes the items such as: family land; houses; family income and capital in cash and kind; family livestock; family equipment and material; and labor (of self and family members). The Benefits include items such as: education and training; health care services; credit; community development activities; community forest and water resources; government extension services; information and media; communication and transportation services; electricity; local market; membership; religion; external aids. Access to and control over resources and benefits involves the issues of participation. Participation here should not mean only joining in doing something, but should also means taking in decision-making capacity as well. It indicates whether the resources and benefits are accessed to and controlled by men only; by women only; or by men and women equally or unequally.

3. Examining of influencing factors This task is to examine the factors that have impacts, and give opportunities or constraints, to the lives of men and women in the target area. Analysis of influencing factors intends to draw up the potential recommendations for the study area based on the area’s opportunities and constraints in order to increase women’s participation in development activities, decision-making, and their access to and control over resources and benefits. This analysis deals with the factors such as national regulations (policies, laws, and development plans); infrastructures (roads, sanitation infrastructure, irrigation structures, and buildings); education (formal, informal, training, and teaching); public health (modern services, local knowledge, etc. ); culture (beliefs and traditional practices, etc. ); international issues (bilateral and multilateral projects, development projects, neighboring countrieslinkage, and so forth).

4. Empowerment is the process of increasing the assets and capabilities of individuals or groups to make choices and to transform those choices into desired actions and outcomes (World Bank). Ø In pre-assessments you can analyse to what extend men and women (from different ethnic/social/political backgrounds and/or physically challenged) are empowered and plan for activities to include those who are excluded from participating in the project. Ø During the project implementation you can monitor and evaluate if there is change in the status of empowerment.

Gender disaggregated data Collection of sex disaggregated data is important in the assessment and planning and design stage of the programme/project. When this is applied it allows monitoring and evaluation of the gendered outcome and impact of a project/programme. Sex-disaggregated data is significant in measuring the level of women empowerment. It means that quantitative data for any sector or area of concern should be disaggregated for both men and women. In this way, the data can provide information about status, problems, and specific needs of men and women.

Gender needs assessments are done as part of the planning and design stage of a project/ program. Practical gender needs (short-term needs) are immediate and material needs and arise from current conditions. Women’s practical needs generally relate to the responsibilities assigned to them in the gendered division of labor; reproduction and the related tasks of household maintenance and income-generation. Examples of practical gender needs are: child care services, maternal and child health care, subsistence crops marketing, and traditional employment opportunities are means to address these needs. Strategic Gender Interests (long-term interests) are long-term needs, related to the positions of women and men, and focus on equalizing gender-based disparities in wages, education, employment, and participation in decision-making bodies. Addressing strategic interests may challenge the balance of power between men and women. Actions to address women’s strategic interests includes elimination of the gender division of labor and institutionalised forms of discrimination, shared domestic labor, promotion of political equality, freedom of choice in child-bearing, and adequate measures against male violence. Practical needs and strategic interests are linked. Responding to practical needs identified by women and men at the community level can provide an entry point to identifying and addressing their long-term strategic interests.

Gender budgeting can be done as part of the planning and budgeting phase of a project/ program. What is a budget? • A complete implementation plan • A plan to allocate resources to meet the planned outcomes • An account to measure performance • Cost of activities with detailed break-up • Action-plan for future activities • A tool to plan effectively • Essential to monitor progress and ensure accountability A Gender budget is a policy framework, a methodology and a set of tools to assist governments and every organisation and institution to integrate gender perspective into budget. It is an approach which can be used to highlight the gap between policy statements and the resources committed. Gender budgeting is not about having a separate budget for women or spending as much on women as on men or assessing programs specially for women and girls, but rather about the costs you have to make sure women are also participating and benefitting from improved sanitation An example to make it more clear: In some countries the official language is different from the locally spoken language. Only children who go to school learn to communicate in the official language. This often means that a large group of the women only speaks the local language and do not understand the official language well. To make sure women contribute to your sanitation project and equally benefit you have to communicate with them in a language they can understand. This activity costs extra money (e. o. translation of material, contracting translator, more meetings, time, etc) and needs to be part of your budget.

Participation Make sure the people you want to involve (men, women, elderly, minorities, disabled, orphan headed households etc. ) are able to participate in training, planning, decision making and management; Meetings are in appropriate place and time Social obstructions are minimized (e. g. choice of facilitator, separate meetings for different target groups, small group meetings, etc. ) Material and meetings are in language all participants understand Women are not only contributing free labor but are also hired Type of sanitation determines the governing system and options for participation of men and women (e. g. on site dry sanitation – waterborne centralized treatment) More information: Why Gender Matters (OECD, 2004)

Design & planning Construction, implementation collection storage transportation treatment re (social)marketing use & maintenance Adapted from www. AKVO. org reuse

Technology design; social aspects • • • Social construction: how objectives and interests of different stakeholders in technology development influence design characteristics who decides on the type of sanitation system? Is it appropriate for both men and women? Social requirement for implementation and use: the designs requires certain skills and forms of organization in order to work as intended. Can both men and women build, use and manage the ecosanitation system successfully? What are the opportunity costs for men and for women? Social effect: as a result of the interplay between the intrinsic characteristics of the technology and the (social, physical, political) environment in which it functions Is the technology empowering or disempowering for men and/or for women? Based on Peter Mollinga’s (1998) ideas on the social construction of irrigation scheme’s

Raising awareness -also in language that women understand. -meetings at places that are accessible to women (socially acceptable and safe) -meeting on times when women can come -choose facilitator that women are comfortable with - be efficient with time! Disempowering? MAN and/or WOMAN? Empowering?

Construction Disempowering? Construction of toilet - financing (can women also get a loan? ) - training in skills (see raising awareness) - purchase of tools/ materials (also possible for women? ) - labor input is paid/voluntary MAN and/or WOMAN? Empowering?

Collection Use of toilet differs between men, women and children - position when defecating, habit (washer/wiper) - position when urinating, habit (sit/stand/squat) - sanitation measures (e. g. addition of ash/water) - provide ash, water, etc. (who collects this, costs and time) - hygiene measures (also think of menstruation) - cleaning of the toilet (hygiene, costs and time) - maintenance of the toilet (costs and time) Disempowering? MAN and/or WOMAN? Empowering?

Storage and local treatment • Who does what? • Are women also trained? • Can women manage their own ecosan toilet? (socially accepted, physical possible) • Is the management of the toilet an extra burden for women? (time, stigma, financial, to complicated) Disempowering? MAN and/or WOMAN? Empowering?

Transportation Disempowering? Who does what? Who has access to these services? What are the obstacles for men and for women? Who decides on pit emptying within the hh, community? Who bears the cost? (financially, time, dignity, health) Who benefits? (income generation, jobs, power) MAN and/or WOMAN? Empowering?

Treatment On site treatment • Who does what? • Can women also manage the treatment process? (socially accepted, physical possible, received training) • Is the management of the toilet an extra burden for women? (time, stigma, financial, to complicated) Disempowering? MAN and/or WOMAN? Off site treatment • Who benefits? (income generation, jobs) • Are women also recruited? Empowering?

Reuse Who bears the fruits? • Who does what? • Who has access and control over the eco-san products? • Who benefits? What are the opportunity cost for men and women? • Can women manage eco san products effectively? (received training, socially accepted, physical possible) • Do the eco-san products contribute positively to the livelihoods of both men and women? • Does the use of eco-san products form an extra burden for women? (financial, time, dignity) Disempowering? MAN and/or WOMAN? Empowering?

Assigned reading Impact of inappropriate sanitation facilities on women’s lives: - Insecurity and dignity (Amnesty International, 2009) just read the part on sanitation - Public toilets in Delhi (Sheikh, 2008) just read the cases described - Girls urinals on schools (SWASH) Social aspects of defecation - Social life of faeces (Geest, 2007) very interesting article!!!! Guidelines/manuals/checklists - Infrastructure for all (WEDC, 2007) background document on gender mainstreaming - 10 key points to check for gender equity (UNICEF) - Why gender matters in infrastructure (OECD, 2004) - http: //www. sswm. info/content/water-sanitation-and-gender - www. genderandwater. org Factsheets - Integrating a gender aspect in sustainable sanitation- draft (Susan. A, 2009) - Water sanitation and hygiene (world bank, 2007) - Ecological sanitation and hygienic considerations for women (WECF) Websites: • • • Funny description of how we indicate male and female toilets all over the world http: //hystericalmarissa. blogspot. com/2010/08/go-where-sex-gender-and-toilets. html http: //newhumanist. org. uk/2249/going-to-the-ladies# gendered design of toilets. http: //www. economist. com/node/16542591 equity in sanitation