Why World Toilet Day is important for women’s safety worldwide

Toilets and having the privacy to use them are things we take for granted every day here in Canada, yet it is a luxury that many countries cannot afford. We rarely think twice about using the washroom. When nature calls, we simply excuse ourselves, close the door and take care of business. However, one in three people across the globe do not have access to the basic toilets that we consider a necessity and for them, this is only a dream.

November 19 is World Toilet Day, which may sound made-up, but is no laughing matter. The day was created by the United Nations in 2001 as a way to draw attention and encourage action to be taken to address the needs of those millions of people around the world who do not have access to basic sanitation. One billion people today practice “open defecation” across the globe, meaning they relieve themselves in ditches, fields and even streams where drinking and washing water is sourced. Without toilets, health and hygiene become questionable and contaminated water breeds illness and disease.

Saadya Hamdani, Gender Equality Advisor for Plan Canada says that in many cultures, the women and girls are the ones most affected by these diseases as a result of open defecation practices in developing countries.

“The issue is so huge and yet so invisible because it’s not something you talk about very plainly, but it’s not something to be embarrassed about because it’s a real issue,” Hamdani says. “What does this do? It leads to so many waterborne diseases and so many other sanitation-related diseases and most vulnerable to these diseases are women and children. They are the ones who are responsible for most of the hygiene-related work in and around homes. They’re also responsible for taking children and older family members for defecation, so the burden on women and children, and girls in particular, is so high. This issue needs to be raised and attention needs to be brought to it and that is why it was decided let’s talk about this very basic thing that the world doesn’t pay attention to.”

Major safety issue

While toilets are important for health and hygiene in developing countries, they can also provide women and girls with privacy and safety.

“Not only will they suffer UTIs or constipation or other physical problems related to not being able to relieve themselves, when they go out into dark fields or streams or ditches a lot of these women are subject to sexual assault and other forms of violence.”

Hamdani says that cultural norms and practices make it inappropriate for women and girls to go out into streams, fields and ditches during the daytime.

“It’s not private, it’s not safe. It’s embarrassing,” She says. “There are so many emotional traumas related to it, notwithstanding the physical ones.”

This makes the need for safe latrines in schools even more important. A lack of girls’ washrooms can severely affect school attendance and cause rising drop-out rates, especially during menstruation where there is no safe solution. Sixty-three million girls currently around the globe are not in school, and access to safe toilets is an incentive to get them educated.

“It is so critical that they are provided with safe, private toilets which are away and separate from mens’ and boys’ toilets so that they are not subject to any kind of harassment or abuse,” Hamdani says. “That keeps girls in schools and it actually brings them into schools because they don’t have those facilities at home and so they’re happy to come to school then. They can actually relieve themselves when they have to as opposed to when they can in their own homes.”

The subject remains largely taboo in nature, which is why World Toilet Day remains needed. While it is important to donate, it is as important to lift the lid on this issue and spread the word through learning as much as you can about the subject.

“What it is about may actually seem humorous, but it is actually a very serious matter,” Hamdani says. “Not just learn, but also share that information with your friends and families and communities. Raise awareness about this. Perhaps in schools you can talk about how Canadian girls will not even think about this being an issue, but think about her peers in any country out there who cannot go to school because she is menstruating and has no privacy. She therefore will not go for those number of days or simply drop out because it’s actually dangerous if she needs to relieve herself. Raise awareness; learn about the day and of course Canadians can certainly give to Plan Canada. Honestly speaking, it is such a mundane and real issue that we need to think about it, learn about it, and do something about it.”