Advancing Rights-Based Sanitation for Persons with Disability in Urban India

This knowledge brief frames disability-inclusive WASH in urban India as a feminist, human rights, and social justice issue. Drawing from CREA consultations, it highlights the intersecting barriers faced by women, girls, and gender-diverse persons with disabilities, critiques policy and infrastructure gaps, and offers recommendations for equitable, accessible sanitation aligned with global commitments.

What you’ll find in this brief

  • Examination of unequal WASH access in urban India, where systems often privilege non-disabled bodies and exclude persons with disabilities, particularly women, girls, and transgender persons
  • Analysis through feminist and disability rights frameworks revealing structural ableism and exclusion by design in sanitation infrastructure
  • Intersectional perspectives showing how caste, class, gender, and disability combine to create compounded barriers, especially for Dalit women with disabilities
  • Documentation of lived experiences from CREA consultations illustrating how inaccessibility, poor design, and stigma affect safety, health, and dignity
  • Discussion on the health consequences of exclusion, including higher risks of urinary tract infections, dehydration, and hygiene-related illnesses, and their impact on autonomy and participation

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