Marginalization of women sanitation workers in an urban setting: a case study of Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

With an emphasis on the lived experiences of women in the sanitation sector, this paper examines the relationship between systemic social exclusion and urban spatial dynamics. Sanitation workers face institutional, social, and spatial marginalization despite playing a vital role in preserving public health and urban hygiene. Caste, class, and gender-based discrimination create multiple vulnerabilities for sanitation workers, especially women. This paper aims to understand the socio-spatial exclusion and embedded marginalization of women sanitation workers, using primary data collected from women sanitation workers in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. This paper will examine the multifaceted marginalization of sanitation workers, focusing on factors such as caste dynamics, gender disparities, and gender relations and socialization, as well as health risks and other related issues, using case studies and social stories. The paper would be based on the theory of “Spatial Justice” that has been brilliantly explained and used by Edward Soja (2010) in his seminal work “Seeking spatial justice”. The social and spatial aspects of human experiences are highlighted in Soja's work, which explains that space is socially constructed and subject to social change, and also how spatial aspects can perpetuate social inequalities. Hence, with the help of this theory, the paper would cover the aspects of marginalization and spatial exclusion of the women sanitation workers in an urban setting. The paper would also take the “Intersectionality Theory” by Crenshaw (1989) into cognizance to understand how caste, class, gender, etc., intersect and result in the provision of compounded marginalization of the women sanitation workers in an urban space.

According to the study, the intersection of caste, gender, class, and spatial exclusion shapes the severe, multidimensional marginalization that women sanitation workers in Prayagraj undergo. They continue to experience institutional neglect, structural discrimination, and symbolic invisibility despite carrying out crucial urban sanitation work. The outcome of the study demonstrates how systemic silencing, rather than a lack of agency, is hidden when past oppression is internalized as acceptance or resignation. The study also reveals various levels of susceptibility even among residents of a slum, identifying horizontal marginalization within the community itself. It highlights how these women workers' positionalities are shaped by social recognition, political mobilization, and spatial justice.