Brac photo story on sanitation and gender

Bilkis and her daughters are not helpless but fearless

Author : Sharmin Farhat Ubaid, Senior Manager, BRAC WASH Programme, [email protected], February

2012 Photography by: Sumon Yousuf, Communication Officer,

BRAC Communication Department

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In Bangladesh, 40% of the population are living under US$ 1 per day (World Bank, 2011). Many of these are single female heads of households.

Women have lower capacity to pay for water, sanitation and hygiene products and services, and lack time for unpaid work and meetings.

BRAC WASH Programme focuses on poor specially on women and girls as key and related variables to achieve more equitable access to water and sanitation and better hygiene.

BRAC WASH Programme follows a rights based approach which values women and girls as individuals first and then as key members of the family and household.

“The Twin Pit latrine model” is an innovation of BRAC WASH Programme to ensure sustainable use and environmental sanitation. The Programme has also advised to build the latrine near the household, for safety, security and privacy.

Bilkis Begum (35 years) is working as a day labourer in construction work. She is a single mother of five children. The latrine outside of her household was not comfortable for her and daughters. She was worried about safety and privacy of her adolescent girls when they made complaints about it.

Two years ago she built the latrine inside the house after receiving the subsidy the from BRAC WASH Programme.

“I have installed the latrine inside my house, because I knew that the intact water seal with pan keeps the latrine free from smell”.

“My daughters are happy and also free from any danger they felt before. “

My adolescent girls are safe and I am not worried about them when I go out for work for the whole day.