Sanitation Plight – Dignity My Right

Sanitation Plight – Dignity My Right (Clean Village, The Vashim Story)
Government apathy, and a host of tedious hurdles in receiving grants for toilets & sanitation facilities was forcing women to sell or mortgage their jewelry for the cause. In Vashim, Tanishka Forum brought the village folk together, instead of them fighting for the grant individually. Tanishka not only impacted the local governance there, but also gained credibility as an organization.

KRA
Fighting the patriarchal mindset and gaining support of the men in the village. Advocacy and follow-ups with the government on the sensitive issue of grants for toilets & sanitation facilities in every household.

With no toilets at home, many women across India are forced to go out after dark or during the wee hours. This is a major concern for their security and dignity, and directly affect the health and confidence of women. Indian Government has recently launched “Clean India” campaign, where grants are given to households to erect toilets and other sanitation facilities. However, apathy and a host of tedious hurdles in receiving those grants is a major concern. Some examples of women selling or mortgaging their jewelry for erecting toilets for themselves have come forth. So Tanishka Forums across Maharashtra were trying to resolve the compelling issue through advocacy & follow-ups with the government.

The Tanishka Forum in Vashim came up with the masterstroke of bringing the whole village together to ask for a collective grant rather than asking grants for individual households. To begin with, the men in the village put up a strong resistance against the impending shift in power – good old patriarchal mindset – but the women were determined and refused to back down. Finally, the men relented and the village, as one, gave a proposal to the Zilla Parishad (local governing body). The Chief Officer (CO), Mr. Ruchesh Jaivanshi, heard their detailed pitch and decided to support the Forum through fast-track grants clearance. He also created an internal implementation team by the name ‘Sanitation Task Force’ and prioritized the issue, providing administrative support from his office to the block level.

The Forum soon became a benchmark of valid information and due diligence for grants, gaining credibility as an organization and support from administration. Now the Tanishka ladies are looked at as the group that brought about a social change.