Anita Khushwaha

A sanitation worker who transformed India's public health through grassroots activism and inspiring systemic change

Anita Khushwaha (born 1958) is a former Indian sweeper who became a national sanitation icon by advocating for dignity in manual scavenging work and inspiring India's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan movement. Starting as a manual scavenger in Delhi's sewers in 1982, Khushwaha faced hazardous working conditions without protective gear. Her 2005 protest demanding safety equipment led to the formation of the Safai Karmchari Andolan, a movement to eliminate manual scavenging.

Her 2014 hunger strike pressured the Indian government to pass the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, banning hazardous manual cleaning practices. Khushwaha's advocacy inspired Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) launched in 2014, which built over 110 million toilets nationwide by 2021.

She organized the first national conference of manual scavengers in 2003 and trained over 50,000 workers in safety practices through her NGO Safai Adhikar Sangathan. Khushwaha's story was featured in the documentary 《Anita's Fight》 (2021), highlighting her 30-year struggle. Her work earned the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's highest honor for community service.

Her autobiography 《From Sweeper to Symbol》 details her journey from marginalized laborer to social reformer. Khushwaha's legacy continues through training programs that replace manual scavenging with mechanized systems, fundamentally altering India's sanitation practices.