#ToiletForBabli –Is this the same
Babli from that fun,frothy movie ‘Bunty Aur Babli’? Maybe,maybe not. She is
just one of the millions of faceless girls whose lives are at stake simply for
want of something that most of us take for granted-> Toilets!
Some time ago,I was surprised
when I saw Vidya Balan on TV not promoting a movie but appearing in a social ad
exhorting women to say 'No' to marriage if their in-laws did not have toilet in
the home! ''How could an issue like building a toilet be so vital that a
superstar is being roped in for such cause'', I thought! After all,we all have grown
up listening to our grandparents talk about taking the ‘lota’ in the ‘fields’, haven’t
we? And then that ghastly scene from ‘Slumdog Millionnaire’ where those boys in
Dharavi lived surrounded by heaps of garbage,defecating in open-something we
see every morning while commuting.What is the big deal?
And then I started reading
newspapers even more intently. More than 597 million people defecating in the
open. Girls being raped when they had to venture out of their homes in the dead
of the night to answer nature’s call. That is when the point struck home! It is
not only a big deal, it is a question of humanity!
Digestion is one of the normal
bodily functions. We eat and we drink and we get energy from the same while the
waste products have to be excreted. That is why we need and have toilets. Now I
am trying to put myself in the shoes of someone who has to live without toilet.
Where do I go to answer nature’s calls? In the open. Where does all this waste
product go? In our rivers,lakes and seeps to the underground water reservoirs.
Who drinks this water? I,my family, my friends. We also eat crops which are
grown in the same soil contaminated with all kinds of garbage and bacteria from
putrefying human excreta. So who is at biggest risk for diseases like Diarrhoea,
Dysentry? Who else but of course me,my family, everyone around me. Add to that
the fact that I am Babli, a girl. I have started menstruating and my school
doesn't have a toilet. Will I be able to go to school during my monthly cycle?
No! Of course, no wonder that so many government and social schemes have also
not been able to get 100% girls’ education and that too because of a simple
thing-non availability of toilets for girls in schools! I used to read all these
like a boring piece of statistics in newspapers but now,I can seriously see the
ramifications!
It is especially a dangerous and
humane issue in a country like India, where women are among the most vulnerable
and preyed upon social groups. Not only is a woman’s ‘dignity’ a big deal and
forces her to ‘control herself’ when it comes to defecating when she wants to
and ought to; with possible molesters and rapists lurking in every corner of our poorly lit streets, it is
downright dangerous for a woman to venture out at night for a simple task
like-answering nature’s calls. Imagine how many innocent lives could be saved
if only women had access to toilets in their own homes! No wonder I grew up
listening to my mom talking about her mother and grandmother as women who used
to drink nothing while travelling so as to spend the entire day without having
the urge to urinate anywhere (while of course the menfolk always have it easy!)
Not only is this open defecation
a serious national issue, it comes loaded with a host of sanitation, health and
criminal problems. I am so thankful to Domex for having taken a wonderful
initiative to do something about this. Here is a little something about Domex Toilet Academy-
Domex, HUL’s flagship sanitation brand, currently runs the Domex Toilet Academy
(DTA) programme. Domex Toilet Academy was launched on 19th November 2013. It
aims to become a sustainable and long-term solution to provide sanitation that
benefits the local community and helps stimulate the local economy. The Toilet
Academy makes toilets accessible and affordable, while promoting the benefits
of clean toilets & good hygiene. Our effort has resulted in bringing the
change in the villages of Maharashtra and Orissa and we aim to build 24000
toilets by 2015 in rural areas faced with the problem of open defecation.
Friends,This is an Appeal :) -> You can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.
I am in to do my part in eradicating this National Shame and I hope all my friends are in too!
