Health, Dignity and Economic progress: the way forward to gender equity

Three ministers of women’s affairs, water and rural development, from Ethiopia, India and Turkey met to discuss with experts and participants during the special session “Health, Dignity and Economic Progress: The Way Forward for Gender Equity”, on Monday 16th of March during the opening of the World Water Forum 5, Istanbul, Turkey.

Santha Sheela Nair from India, passionately pleaded for leaving taboos surrounding sanitation behind us as ‘reproductive health is dependent on menstrual health’ therefore we should build toilets for young girls which do not smell, are not very far away from the school building and where young girls do not face the risk of being raped. Her suggestion: ‘build girls’ toilets next to the headmasters’ room!’

The special session was organised by the UN WATER gender and water taskforce, in cooperation with other UN agencies and civil society organisations[1]. “We know that safe sanitation and hygiene are key for healthy populations, children particularly, but in our rush to reach the Millennium Development Goal on Sanitation, we unfortunately see a focus on purely technical solutions, we are only counting the number of toilets installed, not if they are having the effect on improving health and living standards”, says Charlotte van der Schaaf, of UN Water Capacity Building programme, “only when we do capacity building and hygiene education at the same time, can we achieve lasting improvement, and there, women are the key catalysts, they are the ones able to change hygiene behaviour in their families and communities”.

[1] United Water Decade Programme on Capacity Development, Women in Europe for a Common Future – WECF, IUCN, Stockholm Environment Institute, Ecosanres, Wateraid, Gender Water Alliance, IRC, Women for Water and Soroptomists International.

Go to the full press release on the Women in Europe for a Common Future website