Access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities by women with disabilities in Zimbabwe’s Harare Metropolitan Province during COVID-19

Abstract

This study was conducted in three low-income areas of Harare Metropolitan Province in Zimbabwe to understand how women with disabilities accessed water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities during COVID-19. Qualitative data were collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions involving 104 purposively sampled women with disabilities. Key informant interviews were held with seven representatives of organisations working with persons with disabilities in Harare. Findings indicated that overt discrimination against women with disabilities increased as households struggled to access WASH facilities. These women risked gender harassment from community boreholes ‘marshals’, and urogenital infections resulting from unhygienic menstruation management practices. Poor waste disposal and water reticulation systems restricted high water, sanitation and hygiene standards required to fight the pandemic. The study recommends the full implementation of the national disability policy and the constitutional provisions to safeguard the rights of women with disabilities in times of crises.