manual scavenging

American  

[man-yoo-uhl ska-vinj-ing] / ˈmæn yu əl ˈskæ vɪndʒ ɪŋ /

noun

1. (especially in India) the work, imposed on members of the lowest caste or other marginalized communities, of removing raw sewage from latrines, septic tanks, etc., by hand.

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Example Sentences

He discovered manual scavenging was not a local issue but an all-India problem.

From New York Times • Feb. 2, 2024

Successive federal governments, including the current one, have missed several deadlines to declare India free of manual scavenging, most recently in August this year.

From BBC • Oct. 25, 2023

But according to the Safai Karmachari Andolan, which works to eliminate manual scavenging, there are more than 770,000 such workers.

From BBC • Oct. 25, 2023

There is no comprehensive count of how many workers engage in manual scavenging in India.

From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2019