With the help of a video and community meetings, Kharagpur village in Uttar Pradesh, women now have access to safe and clean toilet.
One of the biggest problems women in India are facing is access to clean and safe latrines and bathrooms. Millions of women still do not have access to clean water, toilet, and personal hygiene. In the month of December 2018, Community Correspondent Kesha Devi reported an issue of lack of toilets in Kharagpur village Suriyavan block, of Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh.
Six months later, the village is now equipped with 500 toilets.
“Madame, the main issue is we don't have toilets, so it is a problem going outside. There is water in the fields, everywhere during rains. Then where do we go?” said Reshma, a resident of Kharagpur village.
Having no choice, women had to go in the open fields where men would also defecate. Despite the abuses and shame they face from men, they were going out in open every day. “Here we are 80 families, we wish we could get toilets here,” said Reshma.
After making the issue video highlighting the problems that women are facing due to lack of toilets, she wrote an application and took signatures from the people in the community. They also went to District Headquarters to talk to the District Magistrate about the problem. People appealed to make 80 toilets, to the District magistrate, while he promised to resolve this as soon as possible. In a few months, the work of building toilets started, and more than 500 toilets were built Kharagpur village. “We are all very happy now. Now we use our toilets,” added Reshama.
Thanks to our Community Correspondent, Kesha, who treated this issue like her own, and was determined to help the community in resolving the issue.
Video by Community Correspondent Kesha Devi
Article by Grace Jolliffe, a Member of VV Editorial Team
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