The latest Akshay Kumar movie Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (A love story), which hits the theatres today, tells the story of a young bride who walks out of her marriage when she discovers that her in-law’s home does not have a toilet. The satire deals with open defecation and Kumar calls it his “contribution” to the Swachh Bharat Mission spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The prime minister responded with words of appreciation for the film.
In the film, the young woman’s revolt leads to social change but in real India women rebelling against open defecation remains uncommon, even if they are educated.
Women have limited decision-making power in the construction of toilets in homes, according to a 2016 study conducted in Puri, a coastal Odisha district, by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Women and girls are most vulnerable to problems associated with open defecation.
In 80 percent of the households, decisions on the construction of sanitation facilities were made exclusively by men, the study found. For 11 percent, the decision was made by men in consultation with their wives, and in no more than 9 percent women took the decision.
These findings are relevant because only 37 percent of households in Puri district have improved sanitation, according to the National Family Health Survey 2015-16 (NFHS-4). However, this is higher than rural Odisha’s average of 23 percent and state average of 29.4% of households with toilets.
Improved sanitation facilities include the following: Flush to piped sewer system, flush to septic tank, flush to pit latrine, ventilated improved pit (VIP)/biogas latrine, pit latrine with slab and twin pit/composting toilet, which is not shared by any other household.
The study sampled 475 households, of which 217 had no latrine, 211 had a functional one and 47 had one that didn’t work.
Only 42% of households in rural Odisha have individual household latrines (IHHL) under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India campaign), third-lowest among states, according to government data.
Decisions Taken By Men And Women In Construction Of Latrines
Compared to households without latrines, households with functional latrines had more educated men and women, larger family sizes and higher incomes.
Households with latrines more often owned agricultural land (85 percent) and a tubewell (83 percent), and were less likely to be employed as share croppers or labourers, the study found.