For most of us, we’ve seen an appreciable change in the cleanliness of our cities, our highways, and most notably, our public toilets since the Swachh Bharat Mission. Despite the success of the Swachh Bharat Mission, sanitation work continues to be one of the most undervalued services in our society. Isn’t that strange?
After all, without the work of cleaning and maintaining our toilets and sewers, disposing of animal and human waste, garbage and sewage, our cities, towns and villages would turn into unlivable spaces where diseases run rampant. And yet, we consider the work of cleaning as ‘dirty work’.
There is a mindset issue at play here. In India, sanitation work has been marked by stigma for generations. This stigma stems from the fact that such work is considered menial and unskilled, leading to the perception that those engaged in it are somehow ‘less than’ others. There is also a holdover from the caste system where only people from certain castes performed these services, and the system solidified the identity of these communities with the work they performed, causing a whole community of people to be thought of as ‘dirty’. Even today, despite legal bans and constitutional protections, many lower caste people continue to face discrimination and violence because of their caste identity and occupation.
Among the lower caste sanitation workers, women face additional challenges due to gender inequality and patriarchy. They are often paid less than men, have less access to education, health care and social security, and face higher risks of harassment, abuse and exploitation. They also have to balance their domestic responsibilities with their work, which often involves long hours, heavy physical labour and exposure to hazardous substances.
Fortunately, these mindsets are changing. It has taken a lot of education and awareness, and a lot of work has gone into humanising these women to a public to whom they (and the work they do) are largely invisible. Harpic, India’s leading brand in the lavatory care segment, has a deep and nuanced understanding of the specific challenges that sanitation workers face, and it decided to put this understanding to good use through two key initiatives: the Harpic World Toilet Colleges, and Mission Swachhta aur Paani, a joint initiative with News18.
Mission Swachhta aur Paani, is a movement that champions the cause of inclusive sanitation, equality for all genders, abilities, castes and classes and the strong belief that clean toilets are a shared responsibility. For 3 years now, Mission Swachhta aur Paani has created space for dialogue on key issues regarding toilet access and toilet hygiene, and the problems that sanitation workers face. These discussions involve government officials, NGOs, activists, sanitation workers, educators and members of the public.
At the event celebrating the culmination of Season 3 of Mission Swachhta aur Paani, Chinta Devi, Deputy Mayor of Gaya; Jack Sim, Founder, World Toilet Organization; Padma Shri S Damodaran: Founder & CEO, Gramalaya; Soha Ali Khan, Actor; and Ravi Bhatnagar, Director of External Affairs & Partnerships at SOA, Reckitt talked about the Unsung Warriors of Sanitation, and how, through changes big and small, we can help make their lives easier.
While Chinta Devi recounted her experiences as a sanitation worker, and the circumstances that brought her to the profession, Soha Ali Khan spoke about how so many of these stories fall through the cracks. “I think I live in my own ivory tower. I have my own restroom, and the rest of the world doesn’t affect me. I think we forget how interconnected we truly are. I think we can’t protect ourselves and leave other people to their own devices. Women have been involved in a very invisible way in cleaning toilets and maintaining the system.”
She spoke about the potential of Self Help Groups, particularly in the sanitation ecosystem. S Damodaran too, talked about how self help groups established by his organisation are cleaning community toilets and being compensated fairly. That, of course, is one of the core tenets of the Harpic World Toilet Colleges.
Ravi Bhatnagar noted that the high number of deaths amongst sanitation workers was one of the driving forces behind setting up the Harpic World Toilet Colleges. “It’s a huge number in Tamil Nadu, followed by Uttar Pradesh and many other states. Based on that, we started our first World Toilet College for Women, in Puducherry. For us success is defined by the dignity of our women graduates. We issue them sanitation passports, and that document gives them a preference from the municipality of Puducherry for jobs.”
The college is already ISO Certified, and the placement rates are hovering at 98%. In the last one year, they’ve trained over 2,500 women, and these women have landed not just toilet cleaning jobs but also jobs in hospitals, in tourism departments as caretakers of buildings, and in the private sector.
Jack Sim, founder of the World Toilet Organisation always has toilets on his mind. He has been thinking of ways to get people to pay attention to toilets – both as users and policy makers. He’s been flirting with the idea of designing quirky and stylish toilets that serve as conversation starters. “When you make people laugh, they listen. And once they start talking, they keep talking. When you talk with your friends, you often talk about travelling, etc. What if we could also talk about sanitation?”
He talked about the change in Beijing’s toilets in the aftermath of the Beijing Olympics. Before the olympics, Beijing too, had a toilet hygiene problem. However, through strict compliance, toilets were maintained and kept clean during the Olympics. “And then they realised, hey, clean toilets attract tourists! They started to clean toilets because of profit! Today, 20 years later, every toilet is clean, not only in Beijing but even in small cities!”
India’s era of clean toilets has only just begun, and the frontline in that fight are our sanitation workers. While laudable initiatives like the Harpic World Toilet Colleges and Mission Swachhta aur Paani are doing their bit, what is needed is change at a policy level and in our mindsets. Fortunately, we have the power to bring about both. Join us here, to learn more about how you can help campaign for a Swasth and Swachh Bharat.