Women’s participation in the sanitation value chain in low-income rural areas (Kenya)

Women’s participation in sanitation in South Imenti has recently surfaced as an area of interest in the past decade. There is a rapidly growing evidence of women lagging behind in taking part in sanitation. This study aimed at examining how management and knowledge of sanitation are gendered, determining Women’s participation in sanitation development, governance and management and evaluation of challenges hindering women participation. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to conduct the study. Purposive sampling was used to select three locations in South Imenti Sub- County and a sample size of 100 determined using Yamane’s formula was used. The findings indicated that Women’s rights and freedom in leadership and management abilities were hindered by old-fashioned cultural practices, busy schedules, low literacy level, age disparity and fear of negative perception. Both men and women should be included in community sanitation projects to boost the sanitation sector in the attainment of its goals and specifically to meet sanitation targets. Recommendations from this study included promotion of women and girls’ education, promotion and sensitization of policy implementation on women inclusion, discouragement of gender discrimination and appreciation of women leaders as role models.