It is now widely known that the lack of toilets at homes impose a great stress on girls and women. They have to wait till dark to relieve themselves. This has a major impact on the health of girls and women. But the most important and devastative aspect is that the women and girls become vulnerable to rape.

Many cases have occurred in India and Pakistan, where the girls and women were raped while going out in the dark for relieving themselves. One can very well imagine the trauma of the victims.

According to a BBC news (www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35379221), photographer Smita Sharma has been chronicling the lives of rape victims in India for years. Helped by local health workers and non-governmental organisations, Ms Sharma has travelled the length and breadth of the country to meet survivors of rape and record their stories.

The BBC post gives account of six victims, with one (Rithika, 15) becoming victim while going out to defecate. The post says:

Rithika now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has not spoken since the incident.

This shows stress of the highest order on the victims. The post further says: “In India, almost 60% of rural households lack access to toilets, making women vulnerable to sexual assault.”

Reading this painful story, one can only hope and pray that sanitation for all becomes a reality in a shortest possible time.

F H Mughal