Hazardous Sanitation Labour: Connecting the Past, Present and Future of Manual Scavenging in Bangladesh

危险卫生劳动：连接孟加拉国人工清理的过去、现在和未来

• 批准号: ES/W002272/1
• 负责人: Sally Cawood
• 金额: $ 30.56万
• 依托单位: Lancaster University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FW002272%2F1
• 关键词: Hazardous; Sanitation; Labour; Connecting; Past

Though declared illegal, manual scavenging persists in Bangladesh and across South Asia as a form of 'caste-based slavery' (IDSN 2014) that has simply 'adapted with modernisation' (Centre for Equity Studies 2019). In addition to low, irregular pay and little to no social protection, the men, women and children involved in this work risk frequent injury (gashes/cuts, breakages, back and neck problems), illness (vision and hearing impairments, skin, respiratory, parasitic and vector-borne diseases) and death (World Bank 2019). Since 2014, an estimated 156 people have died in septic tanks in Bangladesh (BILs 2019), while in India one person dies every five days emptying septic tanks and sewers (Government of India 2020). Whilst the Sustainable Development Goals call for decent work and the protection of public and environmental health for all, manual scavengers (whose global numbers are unknown) remain a vital, overlooked workforce in urban systems. Stigma and discrimination means that they remain largely unseen and unheard by planners, politicians and wider society (Singh 2014; Prasad and Ray 2019). In Bangladesh, a country where 'dirty work' (nongra kaj in Bengali) persists yet is poorly understood, manual scavenging is undertaken predominantly by self-defined Harijans ('children of God'), low-caste, religious and ethnic minorities living in dense segregated colonies, a legacy of British colonial rule (1858-1947), labour migration and subjugation (Sultana and Subedi 2016). Whilst mechanisation of the sanitation sector in Bangladesh seeks to eliminate manual scavenging, in reality, those involved in 'dirty work' are often unable to benefit from shifting employment arrangements (Zaqout et al 2020; Cawood et al 2021). This project, the first of its kind, places the spotlight firmly onto this neglected urban workforce, to highlight potential pathways to improved or alternative work. In doing so, the project makes a significant and original contribution to knowledge, building conceptual, methodological, empirical and impact-related innovation into its very design. Conceptually, the project draws together disparate literature and expertise from urban studies, development, geography, history and public health engineering, to connect the past, present and future of manual scavenging in Bangladesh by examining five key, understudied themes - identity (age, gender, caste, ethnicity and religion), migration, place of residence, techno-legal change and socio-economic mobility - situated within broader understandings of colonialism and the reproduction of caste. Methodologically, the project utilises a case study approach with a mixed qualitative toolkit, including secondary, archival research and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) across Bangladesh, India and Pakistan - countries where manual scavenging remains a caste-based occupation, and where British colonial rule (1858-1947) had potentially significant implications for the administration and legacy of 'dirty work'. Bangladesh is used as an 'illustrative case' (Flyvbjerg 2006) for Participatory Action Research (PAR) involving oral life histories with portraits, focus groups and impact activities with Harijan youth and community leaders to address a dearth of empirical knowledge on this topic. In deploying these methods, the project also advances tools and techniques on working with rather than on marginalised groups in urban systems. Innovations in conceptual framing, methods (combining archival research with PAR) and impact, including the establishment of internal and external 'learning and sharing' advisory groups, emerge from my unique position and positionality as a social scientist who has worked with and within interdisciplinary teams, and strong, established networks with policy advocates, activists and practitioners. These configurations place me in an excellent position to coordinate world-leading academic research with a direct line to policy and practice.

尽管被宣布为非法，但手工拾荒在孟加拉国和整个南亚仍然存在，作为一种“基于种姓的奴隶制”（IDSN 2014），它只是“适应了现代化”（公平研究中心 2019）。除了工资低、不稳定和几乎没有社会保障外，参与这项工作的男性、女性和儿童还面临频繁受伤（割伤、骨折、背部和颈部问题）、疾病（视力和听力障碍、皮肤、呼吸系统障碍）的风险。 、寄生虫和媒介传播疾病）和死亡（世界银行，2019）。自 2014 年以来，孟加拉国估计有 156 人死于化粪池中（BILs 2019），而在印度，每五天就有一人因清空化粪池和下水道而死亡（印度政府 2020）。尽管可持续发展目标呼吁所有人获得体面工作并保护公共和环境健康，但手工拾荒者（其全球数量未知）仍然是城市系统中至关重要的、被忽视的劳动力。耻辱和歧视意味着规划者、政治家和更广泛的社会基本上看不到和听不到它们（Singh 2014；Prasad 和 Ray 2019）。在孟加拉国，“肮脏的工作”（孟加拉语为 nongra kaj）依然存在，但人们对其知之甚少，手工拾荒主要由自称为“上帝的孩子”的 Harijans、居住在低种姓、宗教和少数民族的人从事。密集的隔离殖民地、英国殖民统治（1858-1947）、劳工移民和征服的遗产（Sultana 和 Subedi 2016）。虽然孟加拉国环卫部门的机械化旨在消除人工清理垃圾，但实际上，那些从事“肮脏工作”的人往往无法从就业安排的转变中受益（Zaqout 等人，2020 年；Cawood 等人，2021 年）。该项目是同类项目中的第一个，将焦点集中在这些被忽视的城市劳动力身上，以突出改善或替代工作的潜在途径。在此过程中，该项目对知识做出了重大而原创的贡献，将概念、方法论、经验和影响相关的创新融入到其设计中。从概念上讲，该项目汇集了来自城市研究、发展、地理、历史和公共卫生工程的不同文献和专业知识，通过研究五个关键的、未被充分研究的主题——身份（年龄、性别），将孟加拉国手工拾荒的过去、现在和未来联系起来。 、种姓、种族和宗教）、移民、居住地、技术法律变革和社会经济流动性——位于对殖民主义和种姓再生产的更广泛理解范围内。从方法上讲，该项目采用了案例研究方法和混合定性工具包，包括对孟加拉国、印度和巴基斯坦进行二次档案研究和关键知情人访谈（KII）——在这些国家，手工拾荒仍然是基于种姓的职业，并且受到英国殖民统治（1858-1947）对“肮脏工作”的管理和遗产具有潜在的重大影响。孟加拉国被用作参与性行动研究（PAR）的“说明性案例”（Flyvbjerg 2006），涉及口述生活史、肖像、焦点小组以及与 Harijan 青年和社区领袖的影响活动，以解决该主题缺乏经验知识的问题。在部署这些方法时，该项目还改进了与城市系统中的边缘群体合作而不是针对边缘群体的工具和技术。概念框架、方法（将档案研究与 PAR 相结合）和影响力方面的创新，包括建立内部和外部“学习和共享”咨询小组，源于我作为一名曾与跨学科团队合作并在跨学科团队内工作的社会科学家的独特地位和立场，以及与政策倡导者、活动家和实践者建立的强大网络。这些配置使我处于一个非常有利的位置，可以协调世界领先的学术研究，并直接与政策和实践保持一致。