

Ludhiana: As the world celebrates International Women's Day, a group of around 40 women of the city from an NGO have written to the Prime Minister to include the ‘right to toilet' as a fundamental right. A city-based non-government organization (NGO) Mahatar Sathi Jagriti Manch motivated women from Chander Nagar and Civil Lines to come together and write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the issue.

Says Keemti Rawal, the president of the NGO that works on social issues in the city: "We were really pained to see that women in many areas of Chander Nagar and Civil Lines had to defecate in the open, as they don't have toilets. Apart from making them prone to crime against women, as anti-social elements do target such women, they also suffer from health issues due to dirt in the open. Since the prime minister has brought the focus on cleanliness under the Swach Bharat Abhiyan, we motivated these women to write to the Prime Minister, requesting him to make the right to toilet as a fundamental right. Various judgments of the court in the country have also advocated the need for cheap and easy toilets for all, especially women."

The women members of the NGO say that the steps taken by the Prime Minister to make India clean are commendable, but there is need to increase the number of toilets in cities and villages. "The women are right in bringing their demand to make the ‘right to toilet' as a fundamental right, as they are the worst sufferers in the case of no toilet at home. We are hopeful that the Prime Minister, who brought the focus on Swachh Bharat, will read their demand and fulfil it," said Savita Kalra, a senior member of the NGO. She added that apart from the Prime Minister, they have also sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of Ludhiana.

Meanwhile, women of Chander Nagar and Civil Lines, who have signed the letter to the Prime Minister, say the best gift he can give is to fulfil their demand. Says Sheetal, a woman in her twenties, one of the signatories of the letter: "It is great that we are celebrating the International Women's Day, but for us, real empowerment will occur only if we get basic facilities. The government should include the ‘right to toilet' in the ‘right to live with dignity'. If they build more toilets for poor families, it will be the best salute to women across the country."

One of the women who has also signed on the application, says that she has been teased by a miscreant in the area many times, while defecating in the open due to the absence of a toilet. She added that International Women's Day has no meaning if the women had to face such a scenario.



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