Women hygiene: Karnataka’s Gadag district gets 32 pink toilets under Swachh Bharat Mission

Women’s health and hygiene are of prime concern in rural areas with inadequate access to water, toilets, and sanitary napkins. In a move to make sanitisation accessible and safe to the women of villages and remove the taboo around menstrual health, the Gadag district of Karnataka is constructing pink toilets under the central government’s Swachh Bharat Mission. The toilets will be built at 32-gram panchayats across the district.

The cost of constructing the pink toilets is borne by MGNREGA, Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), and Gram Panchayat 15th Finance Fund. Each unit costs Rs 6 Lakhs. 20 units have been completed and the remaining 12 are in an advanced stage of completion, said a government press release.

The toilets will be equipped with sufficient water supply, changing room, adequate lighting, and other amenities. Each unit has an incinerator which is used for the safe disposal of sanitary pads and menstrual waste.

A pink toilet was first constructed at the KH Patil Girls Senior Primary School and after successful testing, it is being replicated in other villages. Further training is being given at the school level to ensure proper use and maintenance of the facilities, involving teachers, School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) members, and GP members. It specifically covered the use of incinerators.

The toilets have been constructed in collaboration with Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, 15th FC, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, and the GP funds.

Meanwhile, awareness programs are being conducted about women’s sanitisation and menstrual health for school children. Messages are reinforced through brochures, wall writing, posters and put up in public areas. Plans to train women to make sanitary pads and distribute them in the villages is also in pipeline.