Addressing Gender-Specific Vulnerabilities in India’s Flood-Driven Water and Sanitation Crisis

Keywords: India, floods, women and girls, sanitation, water and sanitation, gender-sensitive policies, disaster management, SDG 6, maternal health, gender-based violence

Gender-Sensitive Solutions Needed for WASH Access Amidst Floods

Floods are a recurring disaster across India, leaving millions vulnerable every year. India is the second most flood-affected country globally, with 40 million hectares of land prone to inundation. These annual floods disrupt water and sanitation systems, exposing communities—particularly women and girls—to health and safety risks. The floodwaters leave people without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, threatening public health and slowing progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims for Clean Water and Sanitation.

While floods impact all communities, they disproportionately affect women and girls due to existing gender disparities in access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. In India, despite significant efforts to improve flood resilience, policies often overlook the unique needs of women during such emergencies. Approximately 43% of India’s 28 state climate action plans do not integrate gender-specific WASH considerations. This oversight results in interventions that fail to address the specific vulnerabilities of women and girls, especially in disaster settings. As floods become more frequent and intense due to climate change, the urgency to address these disparities has never been greater.

Key Challenges Faced by Women and Girls During Floods

1. Lack of Safe Sanitation Facilities:
   One of the primary challenges faced by women and girls during floods is the lack of access to safe sanitation. Floodwaters often damage or submerge toilets, leaving people without clean facilities. In the absence of functioning toilets, women are often forced to defecate in the open, which exposes them to health risks and compromises their safety and privacy. This situation is further exacerbated in temporary shelters, where there is often no provision for separate toilets for men and women. Inadequate or poorly placed sanitation facilities—often in remote or poorly lit areas—heighten the risk of sexual violence and harassment. Studies show that women practicing open defecation are more likely to experience non-partner sexual violence, further highlighting the need for gender-segregated sanitation solutions.
2. Lack of Gender-Sensitive Disaster Management:
   Despite India’s ongoing disaster preparedness efforts, many policies fail to integrate a gender-sensitive lens in their approach to WASH. This results in gender-blind interventions, where women’s needs are overlooked during planning and response. For example, maternal health services and access to sanitary products often take a back seat during flood-related emergencies. Moreover, a lack of focus on gender-based violence risks exacerbates the vulnerability of women and girls.

Recommendations for Addressing Gender-Specific Vulnerabilities

To ensure that women and girls have equal access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene during floods, several gender-sensitive recommendations must be considered:

1. Establish Gender-Segregated, Flood-Resilient Sanitation Facilities:
   The primary focus should be on creating sanitation solutions that are not only flood-resistant but also gender-segregated. In the short term, portable sanitation units like eco-toilets should be deployed, which can be set up quickly and moved as needed. The government can work with private vendors to supply these eco-toilets and employ community workers through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to maintain them.
2. Invest in Medium-Term Scalable Solutions:
   In the medium term, scalable solutions such as prefabricated flood-resilient toilet blocks should be prioritized by agencies like the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA). These structures can be quickly assembled, providing robust sanitation options in flood-prone regions. Additionally, solar-powered lighting units should be installed around sanitation facilities, enhancing safety and reducing the risks of gender-based violence, especially at night.
3. Integrate Gender-Sensitive Solutions into Long-Term Disaster Planning:
   In the long term, gender-sensitive sanitation infrastructure should be included in district-level disaster preparedness plans. This integration ensures that flood-resilient sanitation facilities are not just built but maintained, and that they remain functional in the face of recurring floods. The National Health Mission should incorporate these solutions into its broader health infrastructure plans to ensure that women’s health needs, including maternal health, are not neglected during floods.

Conclusion

As India continues to face the devastating impact of floods, it is essential that the unique needs of women and girls are prioritized in water, sanitation, and hygiene policies. Gender-sensitive approaches to disaster resilience, sanitation infrastructure, and maternal health services are vital to ensuring that women and girls can live with dignity and safety even during the worst floods. Addressing these challenges will not only protect the health and safety of women but also ensure that India’s flood-prone regions can move closer to achieving SDG 6—ensuring clean water and sanitation for all.

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