Manual Scavenging", Caste and Discrimination in India"
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H U M A N R I G H T S CLEANING HUMAN WASTE “Manual Scavenging,” Caste, and Discrimination in India WATCH Cleaning Human Waste “Manual Scavenging,” Caste, and Discrimination in India Copyright © 2014 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-62313-1838 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. We investigate and expose human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. We challenge governments and those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. We enlist the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org AUGUST 2014 978-1-62313-1838 Cleaning Human Waste: “Manual Scavenging,” Caste, and Discrimination in India Glossary .............................................................................................................................. i Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations to Indian Central and State Authorities .................................................. 7 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 8 Terminology and Scope ........................................................................................................... 9 I. Persistence of Manual Scavenging in India ..................................................................... 11 Caste in India ......................................................................................................................... 11 Manual Scavenging ................................................................................................................ 13 Feudal Caste-Based Customs .................................................................................................. 14 Social and Economic Pressure ................................................................................................ 17 Persistent Discrimination ........................................................................................................ 19 Impact on Health .................................................................................................................... 21 II. Efforts to End Manual Scavenging ................................................................................. 24 Legislative Efforts ................................................................................................................... 25 Government Programs ............................................................................................................ 30 Civil Society Initiatives ............................................................................................................ 34 International Human Rights Efforts ......................................................................................... 37 III. Abuses that Perpetuate Manual Scavenging .................................................................41 State Failure to Intervene to Stop Illegal Employment of Manual Scavengers by Local Households ............................................................................................................................ 42 Difficulties in Accessing the Criminal Justice System ............................................................... 47 Illegal and Discriminatory Employment of Manual Scavengers by Local Governments .............. 50 Caste-Based Discrimination in Local Government Hiring .......................................................... 56 Withheld Wages and Eviction Threats from Local Government Officials .................................... 58 IV. Barriers to Ending Manual Scavenging ......................................................................... 64 Problems with Implementation and Accountability ................................................................. 64 Lack of Alternative Employment Opportunities ....................................................................... 69 Barriers to Housing ................................................................................................................ 82 V. The Way Forward .......................................................................................................... 85 To India’s Central Government ................................................................................................ 85 To India’s State Governments ................................................................................................ 88 To District and Village Authorities .......................................................................................... 89 To Donors, Aid Agencies, and Concerned Governments ........................................................... 91 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ 92 Appendix I: Efforts in India to End Manual Scavenging ...................................................... 93 Glossary Bhangi: Literally, “broken identity,” a derogatory name used to refer to people from the caste traditionally responsible for manual scavenging. Dalit: Literally “broken people,” a self-designated term for so-called “untouchables” who traditionally occupy the lowest place in the Indian caste system. Dry toilet: Toilet that does not flush, is not connected to a septic tank or sewage system, and requires daily manual cleaning. FIR: First Information Report, recorded complaint of a crime filed by police. Panchayat/Gram Panchayat: Village-level administration, usually elected officials, responsible for preparing and executing plans for economic and social development. Open defecation: Defecation on roads and plots that requires manual disposal. A 2010 report from the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) found that 665 million Indians—more than half the population—practice open defecation. Pradhan/Sarpanch: Village headman. Scheduled Castes: Caste groups, also known as Dalits, that are eligible for quotas in education and government jobs and protected under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989. Muslim and Christian Dalits are not included as Scheduled Castes and are therefore not currently protected under the 1989 Act. Superintendent of Police (SP): Officer in charge of a police district. Wada toilet: Designated defecation area enclosed by four 5-foot walls that requires manual cleaning. Also referred to as a wadolia toilet. I Summary I clean toilets in 20 houses every day. I use a tin plate and broom to remove the excrement that has collected in the toilet, I collect the excrement in a basket, and then I take it and throw it away. This work is so awful I don’t feel like eating. —Manisha, Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh, January 2014 [Manual scavenging] is the worst surviving symbol of untouchability. —National Advisory Council resolution, October 23, 2010 The practice of manually cleaning excrement from private and public dry toilets and open drains persists in several parts of South Asia. Across much of India, consistent with centuries-old feudal and caste-based custom, women from communities that traditionally worked as “manual scavengers,” still collect human waste on a daily basis, load it into cane baskets or metal troughs, and carry it away on their heads for disposal at the outskirts of the settlement. India’s central government since independence in 1947 has adopted legislative and policy efforts to end manual scavenging. In recent years these include commitments to modernize sanitation so there is no further need for manual disposal of feces, and prohibitions on engaging anyone to do this work. However, because these policies are not properly implemented, people remain unaware of their right to refuse this role, and those who do refuse may face intense social pressure, including threats of violence and expulsion from their village, often with the complicity of local government officials. Manual scavengers are usually from caste groups customarily relegated to the bottom of the caste hierarchy and confined to livelihood tasks viewed as deplorable or deemed too menial by higher caste groups. Their caste-designated occupation reinforces the social stigma that they are unclean or “untouchable” and perpetuates widespread discrimination. Women usually clean dry toilets, men and women clean excrement from open defecation sites, gutters, and drains, and men are called upon to do the more physically demanding work of cleaning sewers and septic tanks. 1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | AUGUST 2014 Ashif Shaikh, founder and convener of the Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, a grassroots campaign against manual scavenging, explained the systematic discrimination that emerges from this practice: The manual carrying of human feces