Background
Water and sanitation programs historically have focused on women9s instrumental value in improving effectiveness and impact of programs, though focus is shifting to consider how programming and conditions may contribute to women9s empowerment an gender equality. To date no systematic review has comprehensively assessed and synthesized evidence on water and sanitation and women9s and girls9 empowerment. The primary aims of this review were to: a) identify empirical water and sanitation research that engaged empowerment and/or empowerment-related domains from a pre-specified conceptual model; b) tabulate and report how empowerment-related terminology was used, where and when research was conducted, what methods were leveraged, and if water and/or sanitation was the primary focus; c) synthesize findings by empowerment domain and water and/or sanitation focus.

Methods and Findings
The conceptual model of women9s and girls9 empowerment developed by van Eerdewijk et.al (2017) informed our search strategy and analysis. The model presents three interrelated domains (agency, resources, institutional structures) and 13 sub-domains of empowerment. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CABI Global Health, PsycINFO, CINAHL and AGRICOLA for any peer-reviewed sources presenting research related to water and/or sanitation and either empowerment and/or related terms from the conceptual model (4 May 2020). Systematic and ancestry and decendency searching identified 12,616 publications, of which 257 were included following screening, representing 1,600,348 participants. We assessed all studies using the Mixed-Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT). We followed the 9best-fit framework synthesis9 approach for analysis, using the domains and sub-domains of the conceptual model as codes to assess all included sources. During coding, we inductively identified two additional sub-domains relevant to water and sanitation: privacy and freedom of movement. Thematic analysis guided synthesis of coded text by domain and sub-domain. The majority of research took place in Asia (46%; 117) or Africa (40%; 102), engaged adults (69%; 177), and were published since 2010; (82%; 211). A greater proportion of studies focused on water (45%; 115) than sanitation (22%; 57) or both (33%; 85). Over half of articles use the term empowerment yet only 7% (17) provided a clear definition or conceptualization. Agency was the least commonly engaged domain (47%; 122) while the Resources domain was dominant (94%; 241). Measures for assessing empowerment and related domains is limited. This review was limited by only including sources in English and only includes menstruation-focused research in the context of water and sanitation.

Conclusions
Water and sanitation research specifically engaging women9s and girls9 empowerment in a well-defined or conceptualized manner is limited. A substantial body of research examining domains and sub-domains of empowerment exists, as does research that illuminates myriad negative impacts of water and sanitation conditions and circumstances women9s and girl9s well-being. Available research should be used to develop and evaluate programs focused on improving the life outcomes of women and girls, which has only been minimally conducted to date. A more comprehensive 9transformative WASH9 that includes gender-transformative approaches to challenge and reduce systemic constraints on women9s and girls9 resources and agency is not only warranted but long overdue.

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Water, Sanitation, and Women's Empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis

The COVID-19 pandemic and state violence converged in the U.S. in 2020 highlighting the uneven distribution of illness and death. In this article, we mobilize three bodies of literature-political ecologies of health and the body, Black geographies and racial capitalism, and Black feminist work on care-to understand the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian people, and to imagine different, more just futures. We argue that these literatures center relationships, enabling an analysis that incorporates viruses and cellular processes, histories of racism, power differences, and political economy. We conclude by taking inspiration from the uprisings and Black feminism to envision a more caring future that nurtures relationships.

Toward healthier futures in post‐pandemic times: Political ecology, racial capitalism, and black feminist approaches to care

Increasing research shows that migrants are disproportionately exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, little is known about their lived experience and related meaning-making. This qualitative study maps COVID-19-related experiences among respondents from three migrant groups living in Finland: Somali-, Arabic- and Russian-speakers (N = 209). The data were collected by telephone interviews over four weeks in March and April 2020. Using inductive thematic analysis, we identified seven themes that illustrate respondents’ multifaceted lived experiences during the first phase of pandemic. The themes depict respondents’ difficulties and fears, but also their resilience and resources to cope, both individually and collectively. Experiences varied greatly between individuals and migrant groups. The main conclusion is that although the COVID-19 pandemic may be an especially stressful experience for migrant populations, it may also provide opportunities to deepen cooperation and trust within migrant communities, and between migrants and their country of settlement. Our analysis suggests that cooperation between local authorities and migrants, trust-building and effective information-sharing can foster positive and functional adaptations to disease-related threats and changing social environments.

Lived Experience Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic among Arabic-, Russian- and Somali-Speaking Migrants in Finland

Purpose This study aims to find and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 in India's mining activities. From the literature survey and input from experts, 14 important factors and ten green recovery strategies are identified. These 14 factors and 10 strategies are examined in a real industrial environment. Design/methodology/approach In this research study, fuzzy-complex proportional assessment is used to compare the identified strategies with the selected factors. Based on the outcome, this study identifies the optimum strategy that could assist the mining industry in handling both COVID-19 and sustainability issues. Findings The study's outcome reveals that a large group of workers, collapse of demand and disruption, and suffered contractual workers are the top three factors that need to be considered regarding COVID-19 and sustainability issues. Effective strategies for eco-innovation practices, an emphasis on health and safety, and environmental awareness, education and training are the three primary strategies to be implemented for the greatest impact. Originality/value This research study is the first of its kind to coordinate both issues of COVID-19 and sustainability. In this regard, this study sheds a timely light on the precautions that need to be taken in tackling COVID-19 and sustainability issues. This study's outcome will enhance the managerial capability in developing robust and effective strategies for handling difficult situations.

Green recovery strategies for the mining industry of India: lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic has triggered unprecedented societal disruption and disproportionately affected global mobility dynamics. Within such a troubled and intensifying crisis, the intersection of migration and gender is even more unsettling. Since the pandemic outbreak, Bangladesh witnessed a colossal crisis among millions of Bangladeshi migrants working overseas—a considerable section of them are women. By highlighting the plight of the Bangladeshi women migrants in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, this study expands the emerging literature that addresses the nexus among migration, pandemic fallout and gendered labour. Redrawing our understanding of globalization from below, the study attempts to further advance the theoretical perspectives on the predicaments of globalization and gendered precarity in contract labour migration. The study argues that the focus on the power asymmetry between the host and sending countries remains too limited to provide a comprehensive understanding of how inequalities are reproduced and transformed. Instead, it suggests that the challenges and disadvantages women migrants endure are embedded in the asymmetries of deep‐rooted economic and social structures in tandem with the systemic practice of otherness and exclusion.

Bangladeshi women migrants amidst the COVID‐19 pandemic: Revisiting globalization, dependency and gendered precarity in South–South labour migration

COVID-19 has emerged as a crisis that has impacted all spheres of human life. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted the world’s poor population in terms of livelihood and survival. India wit...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15387216.2020.1843513

The impact of COVID-19 on migrant women workers in India

The issue of open defecation is ubiquitous in a country like India where certain demographic groups are underprivileged and often the victims of substandard life and human right violations. Women a...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0971521518808098

Women’s Experiences of Defecating in the Open: A Qualitative Study:

This paper critically examines the state of tribal health in India by analyzing the accessibility and availability of traditional medicine and modern healthcare.,This essay is the product of an extensive review of the literature and authors' personal experience in working with the tribal communities.,The traditional medicinal practices once very prevalent among the tribal communities are diminishing due to various socio-economic, environmental and political factors. Modern healthcare in India's tribal region is characterized by a lack of availability, accessibility and affordability. As a result of the diminishing traditional practices and inaccessible modern healthcare provisions, tribal communities depend on quacks and magico-religious practices.,This essay advocates for urgent policy interventions to integrate traditional medicine and modern healthcare practices to address critical tribal health issues. Preservation of traditional medicinal knowledge-base and improving research in the field have the potential to address the health of tribal communities and of others. The accessibility and availability of modern healthcare facilities in tribal regions should be improved to ensure better health outcomes.

/pdf/diminishing-traditional-methods-and-inaccessible-modern-439xjx4v0o.pdf

Diminishing traditional methods and inaccessible modern healthcare: the dilemma of tribal health in India

Development and Displacement is one of the major concern for social scientists, environmentalists and human right activist for the last three decades as it is considered as one of the major source in making vulnerable more vulnerable and a leading factor for marginalization. The spectrums of issues faced by the victims of displacement have been serious concerns for debates and worry. Every year a voluminous number of people have been displaced or forcibly being shifted from their domicile to another place without ensuring the basic aspects of resettlement and rehabilitation. Human right violations are very common in such cases and there are ample empirical evidences on the impoverishment and marginalization of the victims of displacement. Present paper is an attempt to enquire the positive and negative impacts of displacement in Alwar District of Rajasthan in India in the name of Sariska Tiger Reserve Project. Impoverishment model of Michael Cernea along with the social development indicators were assessed. A detailed comparison of pre and post displacement situation has done to examine the extent of impacts on the core areas of social development indicators. Thirty four households were surveyed along with eight case studies. The results indicate a mixture of positive and negative impacts of displacement and the negative factors are prominent as in a number of dimensions the community has impoverished. It is vivid from the present study that poor attempts have made to assess the probable impacts of displacement and people's dependency on the place and resources they were living. Further the study is a clear indicative of the pitiable rehabilitation, resettlement process and policies of India.

http://jppc.ro/index.php/jppc/article/download/238/212

Mapping the Price of Development Induced Displacement: A Study on Displaced of Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India

Abstract Racial discrimination is a common phenomenon against the northeastern people of India on the mainland. They are prejudiced and othered mainly because of their very identity—mongoloid features—and by assuming their Chinese affiliations. The outbreak of COVID‐19 has exacerbated discrimination, violence, and othering across the globe. The case of northeasterners living in the mainland of India is not different either. Racial discrimination and the othering experienced by northeasterners have not yet been studied extensively, especially in the context of the pandemic. Against this backdrop, the present paper examines the othering experiences of northeasterners living in Delhi by analysing nineteen qualitative interviews. We also have attempted to unveil their experiences of being othered before the pandemic. The participants were recruited based on inclusion criteria. The findings of the paper underline othering as the everyday experience of northeasterners living in Delhi. The worst forms of othering and discrimination amid the COVID‐19 pandemic resulting in stigmatisation and bullying, insecurity and helplessness, and mental and emotional strains are evident in the participants' experiences. The instances of growing racism in India against northeasterners evidence the stereotypical attitude of the mainstream population towards them and urges legal measures to prevent it.

Dandub Palzor Negi

Papers

The impact of COVID-19 on migrant women workers in India

Women’s Experiences of Defecating in the Open: A Qualitative Study:

Diminishing traditional methods and inaccessible modern healthcare: the dilemma of tribal health in India

Mapping the Price of Development Induced Displacement: A Study on Displaced of Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan, India

‘You people have brought the virus here’: Othering experience of northeastern people amid COVID‐19 in Delhi, India