On December 3, as the world celebrates the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD), whose theme this year is “amplifying the leadership of people with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future,” experts suggest that inclusion of people with disabilities extends to the field of sanitation, particularly in rural India, where many people with disabilities struggle to access toilets, which are largely designed for able-bodied people.

In this regard, the discourse to make Indian toilets more accessible to the physically challenged in rural and urban areas has assumed significant proportions.

Activists are now advocating for Western toilets as an important intervention and “game changer” in sanitation in rural India, particularly for people with disabilities, the elderly and pregnant women .

A few years ago, Swayam, a non-profit initiative, conducted a survey titled “Accessible Toilets: A Paradigm Shift in Sanitation in India” (AFT), involving 900 participants and found that in India rural, serving 69% of the population For people with disabilities and 71% of older people, access to essential facilities like accessible toilets remains a challenge.

Across 14 states and 138 districts in rural India, the AFT initiative attempted to make toilets more accessible through the participation of self-help groups, solidarity responsibility groups and community organizations. Masons and plumbers were trained throughout the country to build accessible toilets which were western toilets easily accessible to various categories of people.

Various research papers and academic journals suggest ways to ensure inclusion in sanitation by building accessible toilets by constructing ramps with gentle slopes to allow easy access for wheelchairs and mobility aids , wide doors allowing the passage of wheelchairs. comfortably, toilet seats with grab bars, raised seats for safety and much more.

According to a research paper titled “Western Toilets, Indian Society and Public Health” and published in the National Medical Journal of India by researcher Anup Agarwal of Jan Swasthya Sahyog, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, “Swachh Bharat Mission of the Government of India (SBM) allocates the same amount of money to each household for the construction of toilets, ignoring the needs and demands of the elderly and the disabled if human frailties and diseases require it. different approaches, these approaches must be included in the program.

The document further mentions that the United Nations recognizes the right to basic sanitation as a human right and includes access to safe drinking water and sanitation among its sustainable development goals.

“Therefore, a comfortable and safe toilet is an essential part of safe sanitation. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 requires relevant governments to ensure adequate and accessible sanitation facilities, particularly in urban slums and rural areas, based on principles for the empowerment of persons with disabilities. In fact, building a squat toilet inside a house where people with disabilities reside goes against the very spirit of the SDGs,” the researchers write.

The Central Public Works Department guidelines and space standards for barrier-free built environments for disabled and elderly people recommend that “a special toilet with seat in a toilet set should be provided for the use of persons disabled people in all public spaces. The toilet seat should be 500mm from the floor. Forcing people with disabilities to squat, when they clearly cannot, and then excluding them from access to basic sanitation, is a daily violation of their human rights,” says Agarwal.

He further adds that if the government is sincere in its efforts to build toilets in every household to make India an ODF society, then it must ensure that these toilets are also inclusive.

Sminu Jindal, Founder, Chairman of Svayam and Managing Director of Jindal SAW Ltd., agrees that accessibility is “an inherent human need and an undeniable right of every individual”.

“Through our extensive four-year project, we have seen the willingness of rural Indian communities to invest their savings and even take out loans to meet this basic need: accessible Western toilets at home. What’s truly remarkable is the staggering 99.0% repayment rate, a testament to borrowers’ unwavering commitment to improving their quality of life.