Transforming gender norms: The Impact of COVID-19 on WASH-related care and domestic work in Nepal

Young men participants in the trial intervention in Sarlahi (SNV Nepal / Ajaya Chaudhary)

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world witnessed unprecedented challenges; among them, a significant increase in women's unpaid care and domestic workloads, particularly around increased water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) needs. Restricted mobility and time constraints tied to care and domestic workloads limit women’s economic opportunities and resources, including to start or grow a business, and also have adverse effects on women's rights, status, health and safety.

In Nepal, SNV has explored the impacts of the pandemic on women’s WASH-related care and domestic work and trialed an intervention leveraging the "shock" of COVID-19 to transform gendered economic and social attitudes. Supported by the Australian Government through a Water for Women Innovation and Impact (I&I) grant, the project findings provide evidence-based pathways for Unlocking critical WASH contributions to care and domestic work for a feminist-led COVID-19 economic recovery. 

The project began by identifying how the COVID-19 pandemic had created opportunities for gendered economic and attitudinal changes around WASH-related care and domestic work. The research team conducted comprehensive studies in the districts of Sarlahi and Dailekh. They found that gender norms around care and domestic work had become more flexible during the pandemic, allowing for men's increased involvement and women's engagement in non-traditional work. Crucially, the concept of "family harmony" emerged as a key motivator for behavioural change among men, which laid the foundation for the next phase of the project.

The research team turned their attention to co-designing an intervention with local WASH and health services, encouraging ownership and ongoing commitment to behavioural change. Through workshops and participatory activities, key stakeholders were engaged in shaping the intervention. The workshops not only raised awareness, but also fostered institutional ownership and commitment toward addressing care and domestic work inequalities.

Two toolkits were developed:

1. Exploring gender norms in WASH-related care and domestic work in Nepal, a participatory research toolkit designed to engage women and men in activities that unpack, challenge and transform dialogue about WASH-related care and domestic work.
2. Building young men’s active role in WASH-related care and domestic work, a masculinities toolkit designed to directly engage young men in workshops that unpack unhealthy beliefs about manhood and mobilise them to make change in their households and broader community in relation to care and domestic work distribution, tolerance of violence against women, and menstrual hygiene stigma.

A trial of an intervention in two target communities in Sarlahi and Dailekh using these toolkits resulted in noticeable, positive changes in behaviour and attitudes among participants. In the community in Sarlahi in particular, the research team saw significant impact, which they attributed to factors such as strong project delivery and links to community-led total sanitation activities. The trial also led to adjustments to the participatory research toolkit to enhance women's agency and the engagement of religious leaders for institutional change.

“My son used to walk around without doing household work. Sometimes he would even beat his wife, which would lead to family quarrels. Because of this, my daughter-in-law and I used to fight, and neighbours always called our family a bad family. Our family has been known as a quarrelsome family. My son has changed since participating in this training. Currently, my son has started helping me and his wife in the housework, which has brought peace and happiness to our family, and the villagers are surprised and ask me about the change in my son.”

-  A woman from Sarlahi

The project demonstrates that gender roles around care and domestic work can change when men are actively engaged alongside women in deep processes to understand inequality, reflect on the value of care and domestic work, and strive for more respectful, peaceful and happier households. It has also shown that interventions can be built into WASH capacity building activities at a local level, supporting young men alongside women to create broader change in their communities.

It also revealed that collective beliefs within Nepalese families are crucial in driving change, and messaging around family harmony are effective in motivating men to embrace more equitable outcomes. Through the project, intensive engagement of young men and key family influencers lead to positive changes in care and domestic work distribution, attitudes towards violence, and women's access to sanitary pads.

Increasing men's access to information about menstruation through the intervention had a direct and unanticipated, positive impact on women's access to sanitary pads and improved hygiene during menstruation. These positive responses revealed the potential for change in this important but traditionally taboo area.

The research also highlighted the need for women to be actively engaged alongside young men to lead broader changes in gender norms and care and domestic work arrangements. Sensitively managing relationships with religious institutions is also essential to promote institutional backing for menstrual hygiene and women's rights.

By empowering women and transforming gender norms, WASH practitioners can contribute to improved WASH outcomes and a more equitable and just society for all.

Broader WASH sector contributions

This project has made strides in addressing the inequitable distribution of WASH-related care and domestic work in Nepal. The lessons learnt have far-reaching implications, not only for WASH programs, but also for broader efforts to promote a gender equitable, disability and socially inclusive economic recovery. It both built on and informed SNV’s work in Dailekh and Sarlahi during the 2018-2022 project, Beyond the Finish Line: Inclusive and Sustainable Rural Water Supply Services in Nepal.

Through their current Water for Women project, Towards Climate-Resilient Inclusive WASH Services in Rural Nepal, SNV is collaborating with local governments to develop budgets and plans for implementing the care and domestic work intervention designed through the I&I project in target locations.

Working in partnership with communities and government, partners are fostering a cadre of young men WASH leaders, alongside women, who are committed to equality in the household, doing more care and domestic work, and making broader positive changes in their communities.

Other learning and knowledge from the project:

• Transforming gender roles in WASH for feminist economic recovery
• Engaging men to transform gender roles in WASH

Above left: Men participate in a power sharing exercise in Dailekh (Everest Club / Tekraj Acharya)