Gender-Responsive Sanitation: A Community-Driven Approach to Improving WASH Facilities in Schools

A transformative initiative is underway to address gender disparities in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities, particularly in schools in the districts of Peshawar and Quetta. For years, the lack of adequate WASH facilities in public institutions has disproportionately affected women and girls, undermining their health, dignity, and access to education. Without safe and private sanitation facilities, particularly those designed to meet the menstrual health and hygiene management (MHM) needs of adolescent girls, many girls have to miss school (period absence) or endure unhygienic and unsafe conditions that perpetuate cycle of marginalisation and gender inequality.

Providing safe, accessible, and hygienic WASH facilities in schools

Recognising the importance of gender justice, the revised Parent Teacher Council (PTC) guidelines in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) now mandate the provision of safe, accessible, and hygienic WASH facilities, including for MHM, in schools. These updated guidelines ensure that the sanitation infrastructure in schools is designed not just to provide basic services, but to meet the specific needs of girls—especially regarding menstrual health, privacy, and dignity.

Local plumbers are making a difference

The Sanitation for Millions (S4M) project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, provides a holistic solution that goes beyond building safe sanitary facilities. It ensures long-term sustainability of WASH services by using a community-driven model that trains 30 local plumbers with skills and necessary resources to maintain and repair WASH facilities in schools and healthcare centers. These plumbers undergo practice-oriented training, equipping them with the skills to maintain WASH facilities functional and effective overtime. By signing Terms of Partnership (ToP) agreements, they pledge to offer five years of free repair and maintenance services, ensuring that menstrual hygiene health facilities remain functional and accessible.

This localised approach has far-reaching effects, empowering communities and responding to the needs of adolescent girls, following the principles of 3R (Rights, Resources and Representation) which are at the core of German Development Policy. The ongoing maintenance provided by these trained plumbers ensures that schools provide girls with the access they need to safe, hygienic, and private spaces during their menstrual cycles allowing them to attend school with dignity.

Fostering sustainable change by involving local communities

This project is more than just fixing sanitation infrastructure, it’s about creating a culture of long-term ownership and sustainable change. By involving communities in the process of training plumbers and maintaining WASH facilities, the project fosters a sense of collective responsibility for the health and education of all children, particularly girls.

The initiative promotes gender-sensitive sanitation solutions, allowing girls to attend school without fear of stigma or discomfort, while also contributing to broader goals like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All.

Ultimately, by prioritising the needs of girls, the S4M project not only improves the physical infrastructure of schools but also creates lasting impacts on the health, education, and empowerment of women and girls, helping build a more inclusive, equitable and just society for all.