Anshika Suri's paper on “Gender Inequality Through The Lens Of Infrastructural Inadequacy” published

Investigating Gender Inequality through the lens of infrastructural inadequacy: A case study of dar es Salaam and Nairobi

2021/03/25

The paper written by Anshika Suri was published 2020 in the book “MORE – Expanding architecture frome a gender-based perspective”. Her work addresses the issue of gender inequality when it comes to accessibility of sanitary infrastructure. Her research claims that there is a need to examine injustice against women through infrastructural inadequacy by analysing the complexities, intricacies, and diversity of embodied and lived experiences of women.

Abstract

Basic sanitation is one of the most important developmental challenges with 2.4 billion peo- ple still lacking access to improved facilities. Several studies reveal that one in three wom- en still lack access to safe toilets worldwide and confront health issues, harassment, attacks, shame, and indignity. While extensive research exists on gender and sanitation focused on hygiene and health, it fails to capture the magnitude, scope, diversity of gender-based dispari- ties and the lack of gender equality in the accessibility of sanitary infrastructure. My research claims that there is a need to examine injustice against women through infrastructural inad- equacy by analysing the complexities, intricacies, and diversity of embodied and lived expe- riences of women. Therefore, in this paper, I aim to firstly detect gender inequality in urban spaces (manifested through sanitation infrastructure) and, secondly, investigate if women are engaging in practices that, without being clearly conscious, are changing the effects of exist- ing gender injustices. By using data collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi with female residents of informal settlements, I highlight the coping mechanisms used by women residents of informal settlements to ne- gotiate their daily fear and insecurity. Preliminary conclusions reveal that most women felt insecure and unsafe while accessing shared toilets at night in informal settlements. The find- ings of this investigation emphasize that sanitation is often determined by engineering and public health policies that are far removed from needs and socio-cultural practices of local women.

Keywords

Sanitation, Accessibility, Violence, Inequality, Dar es Salaam, Nairobi

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Or find the whole book here