“Aashiqon ne toh aashiqi ke liye mehel bana diye…saala hum ek sandaas na bana paaye.” said Akshay Kumar in his movie Toilet : Ek Prem Katha. And I think the Authorities took it seriously and started the Pink Toilet Initiative and it is appreciable!
What’s a Pink Toilet?
It is basically a toilet initiative made specifically for women, adolescent girls and children. And is painted pink so as to differ it from the rest of the toilets.
Special Features: These units are well lit, clean, safe and hygienic spaces for women to use. They contain basins of a lower height for children, toilets having both Indian and Western facilities, Sanitary napkins vending machines, Wash Basins with proper water facilities. It is open from 8 am in the morning to 8 pm at night and is free for all.
Why for such an initiative?
Women in general suffer from not having access to proper hygienic and sanitation facilities, especially those who are at the lower economic strata. And this is something we need to discuss openly without shying away. We need to face the facts and deal with it.
Keeping in line with this problem and the vision of the prime minister and the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan, it therefore becomes imperative to start hygienic units for women to stop open defecation. The problems that women deal with differ a lot from the problems that men or the other privileged sections of the society deal with.
Women are a large part of the society. It is impossible for the society to progress without the advancement of women. And sanitation forms a huge part of it. Women in villages having no toilets at their disposal, have to go out at inordinate hours of the day. During which time they are vulnerable to a lot of crimes such as sexual harassment, rape etc. Therefore, this step seems to be taken in the right direction.
Though the first pink toilet opened for women at Vikaspuri, New Delhi back in 2017, till date there are very limited number of such toilet facilities in the country, forget about the whole nation a metropolitan city like Delhi where it started people aren’t aware of such a initiative.
However, efforts in this direction must be applauded and we as a society have to work together to ensure safety and security of women in the country. A lot of reforms for women are still waiting to see the light of the day and our country definitely has a long way to go in terms of providing protection to women.
