Programs and Pollution: Establishing Universal Sanitation Coverage

in BangladeshPresentation in the panel on

Using Culture to Understand Behavior in Organizations, Society for Applied Anthropology, Seattle, WA

March 2011

Suzanne Hanchett, Ph.D.Planning Alternatives for Change, LLC

Well-built latrine with ventilation pipe and off-set pit (Bogra District, Emdadul Hoque photo, 2010) Simple pit latrine with wooden cover

(Suzanne Hanchett photo, copyright PAC)

Concrete latrine pit liners

Squat slab

Self-monitoring of sanitation coverage, CARE-SAFER 1991-2001, Chittagong District (Suzanne Hanchett photo)

National Sanitation Campaign 2003 - 2006

Copyright Planning Alternatives for Change LLC

Purification by Bath in Ganges River (Source: deathby1000papercuts.com)

Ganges Bath (Source: pbs.org)

Purity & Removal of Pollution

Image from: photobucket.com

Poster showing damage to the body from open defecation, drinking unclean water, exposure to feces, and smoking: worms in the stomach, germs crawling up the legs, etc. (Gaibandha District, UST/WaterAid 2002)

Edge of pond (Chittagong District)Near a latrine (child’s excreta)

Edge of field

Open Defecation

Over water body

Hindu Sweeper

Gopal and his family who work as pit cleaners are mostly reviled by other community people….The Researcher ordered two cups of tea from the tea shop and offered him a cup, but he said he is not allowed to touch the cup and drink from it. He learned from childhood that sweepers are not socially accepted as normal people. … He is not invited to any social occasions, festivals, etc. He does not feel bad about that, because he learned from his family that being in this caste does not allow social life. Working in this profession means people do not accept them as human. (Shireen Akhter report, Chapai Nawabganj District, 2010)

This man is a rickshaw puller named Rahim and showing the worst latrine – that of a Union Council member. He said they can't live inside their house because of its bad smell, and he was right: this latrine really does emit a very bad smell. He said: if Farhana has writing power, then she should write against the Council member Mostafa, because he is corrupted. (Photo by Farhana Sultana, Noakhali District, 2010)

Priestess near image of Goddess Kali, for whom the village is ‘purified’ by emptying all latrine pits before her annual festival

Chittagong District, 2010

Munshiganj District

Gazipur District

Some Clean Bathrooms located near to homes

An unclean public toilet

Muslim Pit-cleaners (Laksmipur District, 2010)

‘We cannot arrange marriages for oour sons or daughters with families of other [occupational groups]. Even if we do the work secretly, maybe one day they will find out how we make our living and return our daughter to us. Now we are thinking about arranging marriages within our Muslim Methor [Sweeper] community’. (Chittagong District interview by Shireen Akhter, 2010)

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