HYDERABAD: They took up the cudgels to make a difference. They wanted not only to live a sustainable life, but leave a better planet for future generations.
Be it water conservation, sanitation or recycling waste, these women chose to take matters into their own hands.
Now, 30 such women eco-warriors have found a place of pride in a book to be released on September 26 in a webinar by Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI).
The institute developed a document that chronicles the lives, aspirations and achievements of 30 women champions in water and sanitation sectors from different strata of the society. Dr Y Malini Reddy, a professor at the institute, said: “We have chosen the women from urban, rural and every walk of life.
We want to show how a single woman can bring a change for the better in society and contribute to domains ranging from advocacy, bureaucracy, politics and service provision.” Among the women listed for the honours are Hyderabad-based changemakers who have been instrumental in brining a change in people’s mindset towards their surroundings.
Dr Hazari Shirisha, the headmistress of a Zilla Parishad school, spoke about how she pushed for better sanitation in government schools, especially for girls. Speaking to Express, she said: “The biggest issue in maintaining desirable standards of sanitation in schools is collection of toilet waste. It is very difficult to find cleaners for toilets, and even if you find them, picking up of trash becomes a concern.
Throughout my career, I have worked towards solving these problem in collaboration with government officials. I have made sure that free sanitary pads are available to our girls, and that they do not skip school because the toilets are dirty.” “Some 10 years ago, the children were not very aware about personal hygiene and toilet etiquettes. We worked towards educating them on these, and about maintaining clean premises. We teach the girls about how frequently they should change their pads and how they can dispose them properly,” added Shirisha.
A start-up that recycles used flowers is part of the book, too. Holy Waste, founded by Maya Vivek and Minal Dalmia, makes products out of flowers collected from temples across the city. But why recycle flowers which are bio-degradable? Says Maya: “Flowers, by themselves, might not create toxic waste in landfills and lakes, but they can turn hazardous in combination with other materials. Also, a large amount of pesticides are used in horticulture which can contaminate land and water.
So it is necessary that flowers too are properly recycled.” The duo collects almost six tonnes of flower waste from 40 temples in the city. Through their start-up, they provide employment to women who segregate the waste and make soaps, incense sticks and compost from the used flowers. Kalpana Ramesh, whose journey to be sustainable started with the desire to end her dependence on water tankers, is one of the 30 women in the book.
This water warrior, who launched her initiative Rainwater Project this year, says that she was tired of people complaining about water scarcity. “We love to talk and complain, but hardly do anything abut the issues that bother us. I decided that I would be an enabler and started recycling water in my house. I started harvesting rain water and went on to revive lakes. We consume thousands of litres of water in our lifetime, but hardly give anything back.
We must all be water positive and give back to the environment. There is enough water for everyone on this planet, but we do not know how to recycle it.” The panelists in the webinar will include women leaders, policy makers and other change champions in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) who have been committed towards bringing a systemic change in the fields of women empowerment and equality.
Celebrating changemakers
Apart from celebrating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) changemakers from Telangana, the book also features women from neighbouring states like Maharashtra. One of them is Pratima Joshi from Shelter Associates, who works towards providing improved housing and facilities in slums.