Dear Everyone,

I’ve squeezed in some time to sit down and work on the questions that remained in the factsheet. If no responses or objections, I will wrap it up and forward it as it is
But first I would like to give you the opportnity to look at it one more time.

See the answers next to the questions are as follows:

On Page 4 at the bottom we say,

It is critical to engage adolescent girls in the decision making process right from the initial stages of designing appropriate facilities and in identifying and ensuring that they have adequate MHM support and guidance especially during puberty

I interchanged the sentences and included the specific stakeholders to make it more clearer

Answer: It is critical to engage adolescent girls in the decision making process right from the initial stages of designing appropriate facilities and in identifying and ensuring that they have adequate MHM support and guidance especially during puberty (Sommer,2010). However this is not sufficient on its own.
The water and sanitation community is encouraged to collaborate with education and health communities within each country and context in an effort to provide a holistic and interdisciplinary response to ensure menstruating girls continue to attend and complete their education. Relevant stakeholders such as education departments and ministries, school authorities, WASH sector departments, politicians, leaders, teachers and most importantly parents need to be involved to make a significant and long term change to the situation.

1. On page 5 we say,

Adequate resources should be allocated to implement gender strategies in the sector (Asia Water Watch, 2006)

Answer: Adequate resources are not enough. Institutional arrangements and policies coupled with budgeting that ensures that both men and women benefit from hygiene and sanitation efforts is indispensible in ensuring integration and participation.

2. On Page 5 we say,

However the concept of integrating gender is not value free and caution should be used when integrating gender"

Question: How can we change this sentence? How can we reformulate it also to make it easier to understand?

Answer: The concept of integrating gender should be free from discrimination for both sexes to ensure balance and equality.

3. On page 6 we ask

Is there a gender balance in decision making processes in the sanitation sector?

Question: How can we spell this out fully?

Answer: Are both men and women actively participating right from the initial stages of the decision-making process in the sanitation sector?

4.

@Elisabeth: You had asked whether some sanitation related business in section 4 could be included from Factsheet 9a. From Factsheet 9a, these are the ones that I included:

Installation of sanitation systems, operation and maintenance, promotion and advertisements, emptying of toilets, collection and safe disposal of faecal matter, training and education and reuse of e.g. nutrients, water, organic matter and biogas by e.g. commercial farmers

Thank you Therese (Water Aid) and Patrick (GIZ) for your assistance!

Just one more thing has remained then I can wrap it up!

Does anyone know where the following reference can be found? I would be very appreciative if someone could provide me with this information.

Asia Water Watch publication (Environmental Sanitation 2005)

Thanks in advance and best regards,

Doreen

Dear All,

I would like to assist Claudia in wrapping up Factsheet 7b. The following points still need your assistance so please do reply if you have any information.

I worked on the factsheet a little bit last week use the document attached to make your changes. You can post your information here or send to my email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1. On Page 4 at the bottom we say,

It is critical to engage adolescent girls in the decision making process right from the initial stages of designing appropriate facilities and in identifying end ensuring that they have adequate MHM support and guidance especially during puberty

Can anyone give me suggestion on what girls are really able to do without political/local goodwill and resource? How would one engage girls in the decision making process right from the initial stages to ensure that menstruating girls continue to attend school? Your suggestions are very much welcome here.

2. On page 5 we say,

Adequate resources should be allocated to implement gender strategies in the sector (Asia Water Watch, 2006)

However if there are limited resources, how can we prioritise?

3. On Page 5 we say

However, the concept of integrating gender is not value free and caution should be used when integrating gender.

How can we change this sentence? How can we reformulate it also to make it easier to understand?

4. Does anyone know where the following reference can be found?
Asia Water Watch publication (Environmental Sanitation 2005)

5. On page 6 we ask

Is there a gender balance in decision making process in the sanitation sector?

How can we spell this out fully?

FYI: Concerning the IFAD reference, I have taken Pay’s advise above and cited the IFAD, 2011 reference. Nobody seems to be able to trace where the 2% came from. Therefore the sentence is as follows:

Men’s landholdings average three times those of women. Women represent fewer than 5 per cent of agricultural landholders in North Africa and Western Asia, and an average of 15 per cent in
sub-Saharan Africa. (IFAD, 2011)

Here is the link to the publication: www.ifad.org/pub/factsheet/women/women_e.pdf

Is that OK with everyone?


I look very much forward to hearing from you!

Thanks in advance and best regards

Doreen

Coming back to one open point in the gender factsheet (working group 7b). Elisabeth von Muench - while reviewing - had asked this question:

Worldwide, women own just 2% of all land (IFAD, 2008).

--> Here we don’t know which IFAD reference is meant (it is missing from the list), hopefully the original authors will know or have a similar reference which we can use?

Pay Drechsel from IWMI has now kindly researched this issue and has sent us this e-mail, which I am copying here with his permission:
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Hi, I did not register yet. Will do when back at work. But I googled a bit the IFAD 2%. You have a moment?

The 2% statement appears with some variation across many reports, not only IFAD. First I found as closest source
www.ifad.org/pub/policy/land/e.pdf which gives a few country examples but no global figure I think; but it is at least: IFAD 2008. Please check again if I missed the global figure.

Then I found a number of citations of the 2% but none leading to IFAD, although hardly anyone cited a primary source, so IFAD could still be behind….
www.unifem.org/partnerships/climate_change/facts_figures.php states that Worldwide, women own less than two percent of all property. In many countries, less than 10 percent of women hold title to their land, which limits their access to resources and credit during crises (citing The Lancet and University College of London Institute for Global Health Commission, Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change, 2009). But this is at least in line with the 2%.
www.thp.org/system/files/Factsheet+on+Wo...nd+Food+Security.pdf states that women have ownership of only 1 percent of the land; citing the International Labour Organization (ILO). “Rural Development, Training, and Gender.” Cinterfor, ILO.
www.actionaid.org/sites/files/actionaid/...llholder_farmers.pdf says that Women own only 1 per cent of the land in Africa; citing Saito K.A. 1994. Raising the Productivity of Women Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. World Bank Discussion Papers: Africa Technical Department Series No. 230. Washington D.C.: The World Bank.

wocan.org/files/all/rural_women_situatio...nt_report-un_s-g.pdf says again that most women do not own or control any land. Rural women own less than 10 per cent of property in the developed world, and 2 per cent in the developing world. citing: United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Global Land Tool Network (2008), “Secure land rights for all”, Nairobi.

wecf.eu/download/2009/WECF_GenderandSanitation_final.pdf cites the same: Land tenure is a significant stumbling block as we women own only up to 2% of all land (citing: IFAD, 2008). The reference list misses the source and took it probably from another text.

Finally, I found a more detailed study which the SuSanA factsheet could use:
www.actionaid.it/filemanager/cms_actiona.../HerMile_AAItaly.pdf which mentions a real database (see box 2). They give examples all above 2% and then cite – I could not believe it again IFAD for the 2% - www.ifad.org/pub/factsheet/women/women_e.pdf . But this is IFAD 2011, and it does not contain any 2% but says much more believable:

Men’s landholdings average three times those of women. Women represent fewer than 5 per cent of agricultural landholders in North Africa and Western Asia, and an average of 15 per cent in
sub-Saharan Africa. (IFAD, 2011)

This looks much better than the 2% global figure, I think. So I suggest the factsheet takes this sentence and cites IFAD 2011, and maybe the database mentioned in the actionaid link above.
Cheers
Pay

1. We can not avoid the issue of finding a system that could flush away after use.
2. A system that could recycle water (waterborne toilets).
3. Water purification plants solutions – for cleaning dam/ river water – for the purpose of promoting health and hygienic
4. And a promotion of sanitary waste basket in the ladies toilet – were at the end of each day – brun them

Dear All,

Deepthi Wickramasinghe form the University of Colombo in Sri Lanka sent me the e-mail below concerning the update of Factsheet 7b. I have obtained permission to post it here. Beneath that is my reply. I look forward to your feedback.

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Dear Doreen,

I am an academic in the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and have been engaged in the water sector for more than a decade. I appreciate your efforts on developing the factsheet which is very timely.

I thought of writing to you since I have a concern over management of menstrual hygiene in emergency situations.

In a crisis situation, most temporary relief centres are not women friendly and therefore their security, privacy and health needs are largely ignored. Especially in developing countries this issue is often handled in secrecy. Under emergency situations, the normal life style of the victims have changed much and they are under immense psychological pressure which aggravates the problem. It is often seen that food, cloths and medicine items are included but not special needs such as sanitary napkins, undergarments are provided. Its high time to pay attention to this pressing issue since we are increasingly facing natural disasters and venerability of communities are rising.

Thanks and best regards.

Deepthi


Dr. Deepthi Wickramasinghe
Senior Lecturer
Department of Zoology
University of Colombo
Sri Lanka


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Dear Deepthi,

Thank you for your email. I appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

MHM is quite an issue in developing countries and in emergency situations.

I recently met three people (2 male, 1 female), who work with refugees and I asked them what the girls and women use and whether they are provided with facilities to manage their menstruation. All of them informed me that they don't know. I was quite disappointed, nevertheless I understood then as I understand now that when it comes to MHM in developing countries, we are dealing with a milieu that is embedded in taboo, culture, lack of awareness and education and many other factors that hinder incorporating the main stakeholders i.e. the women in the decision making process.

Dealing with this openly will lift the bonds, break the silence and assist millions of women in developing countries and in refugee camps to maintain their dignity and manage their menstruation in a sustainable manner.

Regarding your suggestion, I am happy to inform you that my colleague Ase in cc who is the working group lead of Factsheet 8 that deals with emergency and reconstruction situations has provided some information about the need to incorporate sanitary towels and undergarments. You can find this information in the factsheet which is posted here in the SuSanA discussion forum:
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/61-wg-...ersion-of-fact-sheet

Please have a look and tell me what you think. In particular, I would like to draw your attention to the section below that is included in the factsheet on page 3.

Women

- Women should be consulted on the design and location of the toilet, as their preferences needed to be taken into account as well as the mitigation of any security risks, especially at night (Adams, 1999)

- In many cultures, toilets and relevant training needs to be separate for women, men and children.

- There is a need to provide menstrual pads and panties in an emergency, bearing in mind the cultural context and appropriateness e.g. colour, shape, disposable versus recyclable. Over the long term, camp refugees can produce their own pads out of local and recycled materials (GIZ UNHCR/BMZ 2011).

- Some agencies (e.g. Red Cross) provide hygiene comfort kits which include underwear that is important to accompany the menstruation items and extra cloth.

Deepthi in the sentences above do you feel that there is something else that we could add here or would you like us to re-write any of the sentences 3 and 4 a little bit more assertively? I think your information would fit well here about the need to have women friendly relief centres in crisis situtation as this is the time when they are most vulnerable and where there security, privacy and health needs are largely ignored.

Or we could also add your point in the recommendations section on page 7: The need to have women friendly relief centers that immediately cater to the needs of women in terms of sanitary towels provision and undergarments in crisis situations.

I will also add a few lines in Factsheet 7b of the importance of intergrating a gender perspective also in emergency situations i.e. provision of pads and panties and the importance of having sanitary pad projects as a source of livelihood.

I look forward to your reply.


Thanks and best regards,

Doreen

Dear All,

Joshua Konkankoh from Better World Cameroon sent me the e-mail below concerning the update of Factsheet 7b. I am now posting it here with his permission. I look forward to your feedback.

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Dear Doreen,

From the perspective of Better World Cameroon, gender should be integrated in a truly holistic strtegy, which includes working on water projects (creation & maintenance of wells and access to safe water.

Make a clearer reference to international human rights standards in advocacy & awareness raising activities and we should make the CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women) a cross cutting theme in all of SuSanA work.

Joshua,
National Coordinator,
Better World Cameroon

Dear Working Group 7 members,

As you may know, the Secretariat of the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance is currently in the process of finalising a factsheet book. We are preparing a factsheet book that will comprise of 13 thematic factsheets. We would therefore like to invite you to discuss and give further input to Factsheet 7b: Integrating a gender perspective in sustainable sanitation. We would be delighted if we could receive further input for the factsheet as soon as possible so that we could have a final version and print the book. The deadline is the 28th of November.

Current status of Factsheet 7b

A couple of new things have been incorporated in the factsheet.

1. There are additional key points in the key messages section that I received from Claudia

- Gender equality is an integral part of sustainable sanitation which means that it should be suitable and useful for women, men and children
- Women are often more involved in water, hygiene and sanitation issues however there is a widespread lack of suitable sanitation facilities, disaggregated data and recognition about their needs and priorities
- There is an unspoken but strongly real situation in everyday lives of millions of school girls and women that make it difficult for them to walk freely and in a comfortable manner pee, poo or manage their menstruation

2. There is a new box titled Menstrual Hygiene Management in Magadi Secondary School which highlights the challenges of MHM in a school in Kenya. THis can be found on Page 4. You can also read more about MHM in Magadi in the post I made here on the 18th of August 2011.
forum.susana.org/forum/categories/24-men...condary-school-kenya

3. Box 3 has more information about the situation of the women in the slums of Ciudad Juarez and the challenges they faced when using UDDTs. Please have a look. Hopefully the additional information will allow you to have a bigger picture of the situation.

4. Mainstreaming gender in sanitation now includes bullet points that highlight the elements of the gender mainstreaming process

5. I have deleted the box that has further recommended readings. We require all factsheets to be in one single format for the book. Most of the important references are within the factsheet.

6. I have added a small paragraph in the section: Production sanitation about traces of blood in UDDTs referencing WECF 2006. See below:

UDDTs have one distinct difference compared to flush toilets and pit latrines when it comes to use by women during menstruation. Traces of blood can be visible in the urine section of the bowl or pan. Therefore, the users must be given an option to clean the blood. A simple solution to the problem is to provide a brush and water to wash the toilet in the eventuality that blood is left. This can easily be accomplished with one to two cups of water along with a brush. There is no harm in adding a little water to the urine chambers (WECF 2006a)

Attached you will find the document. Please use the document attached when providing your input.
It would be preferable if you could upload your comments and input here in the discussion forum. That way, more members can contribute and discuss any open questions left before finalising. However, if you would like to send me your feedback directly, please email it to me: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will incorporate it accordingly.

I look very much forward to your feedback, suggestions and comments.

Thanks in advance and best regards

Doreen