NEW DELHI: Increased access to household toilets has led to the improvement in the safety of women with 93 per cent women feeling safer from assaults by not defecating in open, found a study released Wednesday.
The study - Impact of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) on the convenience, safety and self-respect of women in rural India - surveyed 6,993 women across the 5 states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, in February 2020, and indicated that the increased access to household toilets has led to the improvement in the Suvidha, Suraksha and Swabhimaan of women in rural India.
Union Jal Shakti Minister GS Shekhwat released a study done by the UNICEF and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on the impact of the SBM(G) on rural women. The study found that 91% of women save up to one hour of their day, earlier spent on walking to defecation places while 88% of women are proud to own a toilet.
Earlier, Union Cabinet on February 19 approved the SBM Phase II which will help rural India in effectively handling the challenge of solid and liquid waste management and will help in substantial improvement in villagers health.
Since the launch of the SBM-G in 2014, over 10 crore toilets have been built in rural areas; over 5.9 lakh villages, 699 districts, and 35 States/UTs have declared themselves Open Defecation Free (ODF).
Shekhawat also launched Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM (G)] at a National Dissemination and Consultation workshop.
The phase II of SBM(G) will focus on sustaining the gains made under the programme in the last five years in terms of toilet access and usage, ensuring that no one is left behind.
It will ensure that effective solid and liquid waste management (SLWM) is instituted in every Gram Panchayat in the country.
UNDER Swachh Bharat Mission(G)