Letter to

The President of India: Mr. Pranab Mukherjee

 

PROJECT HERS - Safeguarding women by making legal framework for the creation of toilets

 

17-year-old Khushboo, from Dumka, Jharkhand, hung herself from the ceiling fan when her father refused to build a toilet in their otherwise pucca home with a courtyard. 

17-year-old K Rekha in Gundala of Nalgonda district, committed suicide for not having a toilet at her residence.

Like them thousands of women in India face the shame and pain of not having access to proper sanitation and many find their way out in suicide

The coverage of safe and accessible sanitation in India is still in deplorable state. The disparities run across regions, religions and castes. However, the one strata of the society, that is at the brunt of this affliction is the Women of India. Lack of access to sanitation leads not only to a plethora of diseases and health implications but also serious social and psychological stress among women.

During the course of sanitation activities like defecation, urination, carrying water, washing, bathing, menstrual management, and changing clothes, women encounter three kinds of stressors namely, environmental, social, and sexual, the intensity of which is modified by the woman's life stage, living environment, and access to sanitation facilities.

Today, the need for toilets goes beyond modesty, privacy, health and hygiene. Today it is a matter of women’s safety.

On behalf of all the women of India, who have to stake their health, welfare and safety for basic human right, we request the government of India for stringent and swift actions. Let us take a pledge to provide dignity to our fellow women through legislative change to ensure toilet construction and adoption as a legal regulation.

 

We believe that creating the right types of legislation/regulations in support of extending sanitation and hygiene services and improving their quality is essential in the process of achieving targets and maintaining achievements.

 

We seek the following:-

 

A.)   Be it urban, semi urban or rural India creation of the toilet area is made legally mandatory with every residential construction. Non-compliance should invoke law against the owners of the property.

B.)    Allow no Gram Panchayat body to sanction a building without proper assessment of toilet and sanitation facilities in the plans.

C.)    Draft an addendum in the Indian constitution that recognizes sanitation as a fundamental human right.

 

Looking forward to your early action.

 

Thank you