Women’s Access to Housing & Infrastructure
Women’s Access to Basic Amenities and Entitlements
India’s informal settlements are often marked by overcrowding and limited access to basic services like water, sanitation, electricity, and proper roads. SEWA Delhi’s work with informal women workers highlights how poor living conditions directly affect their livelihoods, as women spend significant time managing household needs such as fetching water, reducing the time and opportunities available for paid work.
Lack of secure housing, tenure security and proper documentation can further restrict access to essential services, housing finance and other entitlements, making it difficult for families to improve their living conditions. For women workers, a secure and functional home is also closely linked to their ability to work, particularly for those engaged in home-based livelihoods.
To address these challenges, SEWA Delhi works towards improving women workers’ access to basic infrastructure, tenure security, housing finance and relevant entitlements. Through community mobilisation, awareness, linkages and targeted interventions, the programme supports women in addressing housing-related challenges and improving their homes and neighbourhoods. These efforts aim to strengthen living conditions while supporting women’s livelihoods, security and economic self-reliance.
“ We suffered difficulties accessing water. The water from the tap used to be brown and had an unpleasant odour. We had to spend 1000 rupees per family per month to request water tankers and their availability was inconsistent. Now, as a PoC, I can call water tankers free of cost for myself and fellow waste recyclers.”
– Sakhira Ben, A waste recycler in Bhalswa
“ Due to the lack of streetlights, my mobility and work was affected. I couldn’t let my children go out and neither could I work outside on the street. After the streetlights were repaired, my children could play outside and I was able to work for a longer duration.”
– Kiran ben, Home based worker in Bhalswa
