A few years back we were shooting a video to document existing sanitation behaviours among households in Odisha. During the shoot in a village close to Bhubaneswar, we interviewed the family of one of the local leaders. It was a spacious pucca house with five rooms, along with a veranda, courtyard and a huge garden. The house had electricity, intermittent water supply, two television sets and a motorcycle. The two young girls of the leader who were in college used to cycle to the nearest college. Their elder brother who had a small business of his own couldn’t help flaunting the latest smartphone.
But when I asked the girls to show me their toilet, they looked shyly at each other. Upon gentle probing, the girls hesitatingly revealed that they didn’t have a toilet in their house, only a small enclosure near the well in the compound to change clothes. A flabbergasted me couldn’t help replying, “you watch television in your house, cycle to your college and yet go out in the open to defecate? Why don’t you demand a toilet in the house from your parents?”
The girls said that they had broached the subject a few times with their father, albeit mildly, but had never been taken seriously by their father. Upon enquiring further, they shared how the lack of open and secluded space near their house forced them to go farther and farther for defecation, their difficulties in going out during late evenings and rainy season, and the problems they encountered when they were menstruating and unwell. Overall, they were fearful of open defecation and felt insecure, unsafe and embarrassed too. And yet, they were unable to articulate or demand the need for a toilet in their house.
When I asked the leader about the necessity of having a toilet in the house, especially considering the need of his wife and two daughters, he laughed it off saying, it was not really a problem. “We have separate spaces for men and women. And who will maintain the toilet once it’s there?” he questioned.
Even when the country, Odisha state included, went on a mission mode to build toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2014, and India was declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) five years after that, the challenges faced by girls and women in the absence of toilets in their own homes continues.
While there have been encouraging stories of girls and women spearheading the movement for increasing access to toilets in their houses and within their communities, when it comes to girls having the agency to demand toilets in their own homes, it has not been a complete success story.
I was involved in another study on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) practices in a district in Odisha where I interacted closely with groups of adolescent girls. The girls being interviewed were not just smartly dressed but also sported smartphones. They were in classes ranging from grade eight to graduation and were articulate and confident. Most of the girls used sanitary napkins instead of cloth absorbents like their mothers. And yet, a large majority of them did not have toilets at home. Some of them who resided in hostels used the toilets there but resorted to open defecation when they came home during vacations.
While some of their families did face financial challenges in building a household-level standard toilet with water supply and septic tank (which approximately costs Rs 30,000) even with subsidy support, many of them simply did not consider the urgent need for a toilet in their homes or felt it was worth investing in. Somehow, building a household-level toilet is still considered the government’s responsibility and not as important as gaining other material acquisitions.
Open defecation often leads to increased vulnerabilities among girls and women including verbal, physical and sexual violence affecting them both physically and psychologically. Quite often, women and girls without access to household toilets, are forced to seek isolated places in the open or have to wait until after dark to relieve themselves facing the risk of being raped and molested. With shrinking space, they also spend a great deal of time travelling to open defecation sites. Some of them travel an extra distance given the strict social norms about who can defecate where.
Lack of toilets makes girls and women highly susceptible to diseases like typhoid, hepatitis and urinary/reproductive tract infections (U/RTIs) and attacks by insects and animals. Most females go out in the morning and early evening, even going the extent of limiting their food and water intake to control the urge to urinate or defecate.
The adverse impacts of such practices are more pronounced in pregnant and ailing women. They are more prone to hookworm infestation resulting in UTI and anaemia. Besides, diarrheal diseases are common leading to undernutrition among girls and women. In addition, having to take care of menstrual needs in the open is both unhygienic and stressful for girls, especially in the absence of privacy and water.
In spite of such clear adverse outcomes, families and parents in many households consider building personal toilets as unnecessary even today and would rather prefer to use the financial amount in creating or improving assets such as buying a motorcycle, a television set or repairing their house.
While many of the girls I spoke to said they were culturally and socially conditioned to go out for open defecation, they also felt ashamed and were fearful of being exposed as well. “Of course, we would always prefer a toilet in our house or near our house. Who likes going out in the open? But since it involves money, we are forced to accept the elders’ decision,” said one of the girls. Many girls still do not have the agency to demand a toilet in their homes.
Nevertheless, it was heartening to listen to a few girls narrate their stories of persuasion in building toilets in their homes. “Once during the monsoons, I was bitten by an insect when I had gone out to relieve myself. It turned into a nasty sore, I developed a high fever and had to be hospitalised,” shared one of them. “Soon after that, my mother and I were resolute to build a toilet in our house. Together, we persuaded my father to do so. I can’t explain the sense of relief and security after having a toilet at home even though it may not be the ideal one.”
Another girl described how every time she had to go out, she used to be accompanied by either her elder sister or mother. “We were among the few in our village without a toilet. I used to feel both embarrassed and humiliated going out for open defecation. One day, my sister and I decided to put our foot down and compelled our parents to construct one. Though we carry water to use it, it’s so much better and convenient.”
While India is officially declared ODF, we all know that the reality is far from it. Sanitation, along with education, health and a safe environment is a basic right of every girl child. And access to an individual household toilet is a basic fundamental right. Empowering girls to demand their sanitation rights – both from their guardians, educational institutes and the government – is crucial for ensuring their health, safety and dignity too.
