Dignity

The feeling of dignity is an important concept to consider in development. To have dignity means to have privacy, integrity, self-respect and the respect of others, and to have pride. While not among the basic needs for survival it is essential for satisfaction and happiness, and particularly important for women when considering the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of gender equality.

Unfortunately, the majority of women in rural India are left without the issue of sanitation. The lack of toilets is less of an issue for men, who have more societal freedom than women and can defecate and urinate openly at any hour of the day, but women are too afraid of social backlash if caught during open defecation to go during the daytime. This attempt to protect their dignity is dangerous and unhealthy for several reasons.

First the lack of opportunity to defecate during the day is unnatural for the human body and can lead to health problems over a long period of time. Another problem stemming from this irregular schedule is that many women will take measures to reduce their need to urinate, such as consciously drinking less water than they should. This can result in dehydration, which in turn increases the risk of disease, heat stroke and further problematic medical complications.

Other than the medical risks associated with the resistance to day defecation there are more immediate dangers when these women do go out. Typically, they will go into the outskirts of the village, to a forested area if available or to a similarly obscured area. In these areas, at night and far from anyone else there is an increased risk of animal attacks, from snakes to stray dogs. There is also the possibility of sexual assault. In such an isolated place the woman could be defenceless.

 Dignity is also impacting education as in some communities girls leave school early when they reach adolescence purely because of issues relating to sanitation. In the state of Tamil Nadu which borders Karnataka only around 10% of schools have any toilet facilities and as a result many parents are refusing to send their daughters to school because of a lack of privacy. It is an understandable position but has an obvious impact on education levels and works against the MDGs of universal primary education and gender equality.

Though there are serious issues of loss of dignity in rural India today progress is being made in the area. We feel our work here in Karnataka is helping to give dignity back to the women of our villages by providing them with a private and safe place to relieve themselves, close to their homes and available at all hours.

Designed by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of the Sulabh Sanitiation Movement, the Sulabh toilet is modestly sized, relatively affordable and gives farmers an added incentive through the conversion of human excrement into crop fertilizer. More importantly for women however are the solid walls (with high windows for ventilation) and lockable door which allows complete privacy when in use. The proximity of the toilet to the house also affords dignity as women can enter the toilet without being seen by their neighbours. From a health perspective, the toilet is far more hygienic than open defecation with a dedicated area for washing after use.

At the time of writing the twelve toilets we are constructing in Uyyamballi are not yet complete (though very close), but the villagers and particularly the women are taking a keen interest in the project. Residents who had previously dismissed the toilets as a low priority or a waste of money tell us that they are now interested in getting a toilet of their own. We have been educating the beneficiaries on the use of the toilet (as the process is more involved than a standard toilet to ensure the best results for the fertilizer). We are confident that the toilets will be used for their intended purpose and not sealed up to be used for storage, which has been the fate of previous units in the village.

The project has certainly seen success elsewhere. Appu one of our In-Country Venturers team members lives in a village previously visited by Raleigh. Forty five toilets were constructed in his village and he tells us that they are still in use and that they are used by the women in favour of open defecation.

Females are not the only group to suffer from a loss of dignity as a result of poor sanitation in India. At the lowest rung of the cast system sit the Dalits or Untouchables as they are better known. The name originates from the role assigned to them by the higher castes, that of handling and removing human excrement. Such unhygienic and undignified work has meant their near total exclusion and alienation from Indian society. Despite attempts to elevate the Dalits to social acceptance in recent years millions of Indians today are still regarded as Untouchable. The Sulabh toilets also provide dignity to this most impoverished group of society as the eco-sanitation unit does not require the removal of any non-processed faecal matter.

In conclusion, though dignity can be thought of as a luxury by the majority of women and the Dalit caste without which they suffer from health risks, danger and social alienation, our work with MYKAPS helps to provide eco-san units to those most in need helps to provide dignity where it has been lost.