Worm toilets & solar lamps keep women safe in rural India

Worm toilets – The team from the Institute for Transformative Technologies (ITT) discovered that young girls were their biggest champions as they travelled from village to village in India to encourage the adoption of toilets that use worms to break down faecal matter.

The mothers of the girls who came with them soon saw the benefits of these “Tiger Toilets,” and they were keen to have them put in their houses for privacy and security.

According to Nupur Kapoor, manager of ITT’s India operations, “we found the family is greatly influenced by the female child’s opinion on these toilets and that they are also crucial in changing the family’s behaviour, which is key to their use and adoption.”

Worm toilets

Younger girls are better able to express how the restrooms handle their privacy and safety issues, whereas adult women may be reluctant or ashamed to discuss, according to the expert.

In India’s rural houses, hundreds of Tiger Toilets have been built. Even if these aren’t the main objectives, they are among a number of social improvements that help the villagers while also empowering women and making them feel safer.

The 1.25 billion individuals who make up India’s population lack access to sufficient sanitation in about 60% of cases. Due to open defecation, which annually results in millions of cases of chronic malnutrition and tens of thousands of diarrheal fatalities.

Lighting

The safety of women who avoid being out and about after dark out of fear of violence can be improved by rural electrification.

According to a report from the International Center for Research on Women, it can also increase women’s productivity by stretching their days and decreasing the amount of time they spend on household duties (ICRW).

But according to the survey, which was issued last week in collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation, women are more likely to be excluded when it comes to access to energy.

Nearly one-fourth of Indians live without electricity, and many more lack consistent access to electricity, especially in rural areas.

Snakebites

In communities with mini-grids, children studied for longer and companies generated more money, according to REEEP, which cited Rockefeller Foundation data from Jharkhand, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, where less than 10% of homes are wired into the main grid.

Additionally, roughly 87 percent of women reported feeling less concerned for their safety after dark, according to the study.

This is crucial since, according to government statistics, the highest assaults, kidnappings, and rapes of women occurred in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar last year.

According to Viraj Gada of the Global Off-Grid Lighting Association, “the lack of electricity presents a plethora of problems for women, ranging from snakebites and sexual attacks when walking outside to poisonous fumes from kerosene lights at home.”