Women in the Machar Colony, the largest slum in the Pakistani city of Karachi, are refusing to use chlorine tablets to purify water because their husbands fear it will make them impotent.

Machar Colony houses 700,000 of Karachi's 16 million people. There is no gas or electricity and the drinking water comes from a contaminated source. Farooq Sultana is one of the women trained in health and hygiene by Saafwater, which works to provide affordable clean water to low-income communities in urban areas. She sells chlorine tablets to her neighbours at Rs 30 (US$ 0.37 = € 0.28) for a week's supply. 'I have had doors slammed in my face,' she says. '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.'

'I tell the women again and again to either boil the water or use water purification tablets but they always come up with excuses,” says Asma Shariq, a medical consultant at the CFC Mother and Child Health Centre. She said many blamed expensive fuel wood while others said the water tasted bitter when boiled. 'However, the major excuse is that they fear these tablets will render the men impotent.'

Related news:

• Pakistan: Memorandum of Understanding with U.S. to support clean drinking water project, Source South Asia, 13 Feb 2009;
• Pakistan: CWS projects improve water supplies and awareness, Source South Asia, 14 Oct 2008

Web site:Saafwater

Source: IRIN, 19 Feb 2009

Tags: hygiene promotion, south asia, water treatment