“I cannot take these tablets as my husband has said no,” said Shahida, a young housewife in Machar Colony, Karachi’s largest slum. Shahida told Farooq Sultana, a community mobiliser and saleswoman for Saafwater, that her husband suspected the water-purifying tablets were birth control pills.
“It’s not a new excuse. People here have this misconception that we are selling them contraceptive pills and men think that somehow these tablets will interfere with their reproductive systems,” said Sultana.
Machar Colony is the biggest slum in Karachi, housing 700,000 of the city’s 16 million people. Given its illegal status, the colony has no access to civic amenities and is never mentioned in government [improvement] plans and policies aimed at improving the city.
[...] SaafWater [...] began working [in Machar Colony] in August 2008 [...] by employing local women and training them in [...] health and hygiene-related issues. “We sell chlorine tablets. A week’s supply costs Rs30 [less than 37 US cents] and each tablet purifies up to 25l of water.” Sultana [said] “Before, even I had no clue about clean water. I have lived in this colony for a long time and we do not have gas, electricity or a proper water supply. The tap water we get comes from a line buried deep within a sewage drain and as a result, the potable water mixes with toxic water.”
She says it was normal for her to filter the water through a cloth and drink it. “We cannot boil the water as we do not have gas in our houses and rely on wood or gas cylinders, which are expensive and we have limited means,” says Sultana.
[...] Unsafe water killed at least 20,000 children each year in Karachi, said [Asma Shariq, a medical consultant at the CFC Mother and Child Health Centre] with diarrhoea the leading cause of child mortality.
“[...] I tell them again and again to either boil the water or use water purification tablets but they always come up with excuses,” said Shariq. She said most blamed expensive fuel wood while others said the water tasted bitter when boiled. “However, the major excuse that these women have is that they fear these tablets will render [the men] impotent.”
[..] Sultana said: ” I have had doors slammed in my face but deep inside I know that out of 100 families if I am able to convince even two to use these tablets, I have done my part in saving someone’s life.”
Source: IRIN, 19 Feb 2009
