Thomas Clasen

Thomas Clasen
Menstrual hygiene management: Looking beyond WASH
A study from rural Odisha found that exclusive focus on provision of facilities such as household latrines or bathing areas with access to piped water did not help much in improving menstrual hygiene practices until the sociocultural barriers experienced by women were also addressed. Posted on 19 Apr, 2022 11:47 AM

Managing menstruation, with dignity

More than 300 million girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 are menstruating everyday. Managing menstruation hygienically and with dignity is crucial for health and well being of women.

Women in Deogarh, Odisha (Image Source: Ekta Parishad via Wikimedia Commons)
What do rural women say about sanitation?
Women, who need safe sanitation the most, are often left out of crucial sanitation-related decisions at households, a study says. Posted on 15 Aug, 2017 10:09 AM

Does gender matter when it comes to sanitation? Apparently, it does.

Women and their unvoiced sanitation needs. (Women in Deogarh morning, Orissa, India. Source: Simon Williams / Ekta Parishad)
Why do people choose to defecate in the open than use toilets in rural coastal Odisha?
Maybe beliefs that faeces were impure also caused people to look at the practice of containing faeces in the latrine pit in the house as a ‘sin’ is one reason but there are so many others. Posted on 19 Nov, 2015 04:45 PM

Of the one billion defecating in the open globally 66% live in India, of which 92% live in rural areas. Despite concerted government efforts for the last three decades to promote sanitation, India continues to lag behind in terms of access to basic sanitation facilities.

Sociocultural factors affecting toilet use (Source: Sourabh Phadke)
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