World Toilet Day- A United Nations Goal

If you are about to head out for the day to go shopping, do you prepare this way?

1. Make sure you do not drink water.
2. Make sure you use the washroom three times. 
3. Make sure you are only 20 minutes away from your home. 

I definitely don’t follow the above list in Chicago. If I have to use the facilities outside my home, I just use the facilities. There are multiple clean restrooms in restaurants, malls and stores. I have even stopped at a physical therapy office and quickly used their clean facilities.

However, I have to pay attention to the above list strictly if I’m traveling in India. You see, in India, public toilets for women is a rarity. Public and clean facilities for women is a unicorn sighting. If I’m shopping in India, in the beautiful bazaars filled with silks, chiffon and soft cotton suits, stores upon stores to fill my desire, I could be shopping for hours. However, if I ask the shopkeeper to use the restroom, he will give me a blank face and say, “No, madam. Sorry.”

That’s it, nothing is available. What do I do? Do I continue shopping? Maybe I shouldn’t have had that glass of water during lunch. Can I make it home? Taxi ride is 30 minutes, ok, forget shopping, I have to go when I gotta go! This scenario played out multiple times when I was overseas. Something so small, a clean toilet, I take it completely for granted in the States, is such a rarity overseas. 

Why the United Nations wants more toilets in the world!

But you see, this is not only a problem for me, but this is also a major issue that the United Nations has recognized as a development goal. 

Billions of people do not have a toilet at home. Sixty percent of the world’s population have to go an outhouse, that waste flows back into the environment untreated. There are no septic lines to treat 80% of the world’s refuse. This can indefinitely harm our water supply and create damaging conditions for water life. Therefore, toilets with proper lines save the environment. 

The problem extends to gender inequality too. One out of three schools in the world do not have toilets. If you are a girl, and you get your period, where do you go? This a convenient excuse to keep girls at home instead of going to school. Right now, 445 million girls go outside in the open instead of using a safe place for the toilet. They face harassment or stay very close to home instead of pursuing education or work opportunities. 

Toilets for All

Why isn’t this a huge problem for men? I see so many men using a public wall as their urinal overseas. When the majority doesn’t understand or have empathy for a minority’s problem, who advocates? Who speaks up? The minority! Build toilets everywhere! Create awareness for world toilet day. Donate to http://www.unwomen.org. Access to a toilet is your human right, no matter where you are in the world!