Intersectional Geographies of Sanitation and Socio‑Economic Exclusion in Assam's Urban Slums

ABSTRACT According to the report entitled The Sustainable Development Goals: Extended Report 2024 , an estimated 24.8% of the urban population resides in slums. These figures often mask the structural inequalities that produce such conditions. Employing the lens of Diversity–Equity–Inclusion (DEI) and quasi‐qualitative methodologies, this study examines how intersecting identities and systemic governance failures shape the gradients of lived realities of unequal access to WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) of slum dwellers in Mazar Bazaar, Guwahati and Rajamoidum, and in Puja Dubi, both located in Jorhat, Assam. By framing sanitation not merely as an infrastructure gap but as an equity and rights problem, the research reveals how social location, including gender, age and migration status, dictates access to dignity, safety and health. Overall, the findings suggest that the study area's slums are not simply zones of deprivation, but complex socio‐political spaces shaped by power, exclusion and resilience. In fact, the conditions bear resemblance to the squalor and public health crises documented in 19th‐century Britain, albeit with different root causes. By highlighting critical gaps, this study's findings point to practical implications for DEI‐centred policies and open avenues for more in‐depth and comprehensive research on Assam's slums, an underexamined terrain in both scholarly and policy realms.