It reflects the relationships among sanitation, patriarchy, social norms, and cultural beliefs about purity and gender
Despite the awareness campaigns on sanitation across India, open defecation (OD) is practised openly and widely in both rural and urban areas. Research shows that rural respondents are well aware of the negative impacts of OD, yet this awareness does not lead to toilet construction or use. In rural North India, studies on sanitation behaviour found that respondents widely agreed that OD is “bad, harmful, or shameful,” with belief scores averaging 0.83 across all respondents, and continued the practice because of deeply held cultural beliefs about sanitation. [1] This makes one thing clear: the problem is not a lack of information. [2]
Source: World Bank Report
Why Toilets Alone Are Not Enough
Source: Understanding Exceptionally Poor Sanitation in Rural India
The graph shows that even when latrines are available, both men and women continue to defecate in the open. [3] The highest incidence of open defecation being practised among men is observed between the age group of 60-74. Because older men often control household decisions regarding expenditure, construction, and daily practices, their continued preference for open defecation can influence sanitation choices across the household. So, if decision-making power continues to prefer defecating in the open, should OD be considered only an infrastructure deficit?
Research conducted in rural North India found that many respondents associate on-premise latrines with being “dirty” and “polluting,” believing that building one inside the home defiles the domestic environment. [4] One respondent, whose home contained both a temple and a kitchen, declined government support for toilet construction outright because a toilet would “pollute” the space. [5] While men's preferences are shaped by notions of purity and health, women's experiences are influenced by distinct social and practical constraints. [6]
Women's experiences of sanitation are shaped by a different set of constraints. Women in the 39-59 age group correspond broadly to a period of marriage and intense domestic responsibilities, with little leisure time. They continue to practise open defecation despite the availability of latrines, as many value the brief social interaction and the temporary freedom it offers outside the household. [7] When water access is limited, women are also reluctant to build individual household latrines, knowing that the extra water needed to maintain them will fall entirely on them. The absence of toilets falls hardest on pregnant women and women who are menstruating, resulting in poor menstrual hygiene, undernourishment from restricting food and water intake, and higher rates of reproductive and bladder infections. [8]
Open defecation in rural India is not simply a result of poverty or lack of awareness. It reflects the relationships among sanitation, patriarchy, social norms, and cultural beliefs about purity and gender. In many rural households, men often exercise greater influence over sanitation-related decisions, while women disproportionately bear the consequences in the form of increased health risks, restricted mobility, and unsafe practices imposed on women of the households. Rural sanitation, therefore, is not only about building toilets. It is about challenging the norms that keep open defecation in place and ensuring that women have a real voice in the decisions that directly affect their lives.
Shivendra Pratap Singh is a Master's Student of Cities and Governance at TISS, Hyderabad.
References:
1/ Coffey, D., Gupta, A., Hathi, P., Khurana, N., Spears, D., Srivastav, N., & Vyas, S. (2017). Understanding open defecation in rural India: Untouchability, pollution, and latrine pits. Economic and Political Weekly, 52(1), p. 59.
2/ World Bank. (2019). Shifting social norms to reduce open defecation in rural India, Table 4, p. 12.
3/ Coffey, D., Gupta, A., Hathi, P., Khurana, N., Spears, D., Srivastav, N., & Vyas, S. (2015). Understanding exceptionally poor sanitation in rural India. Rice Institute
4/ Coffey, D., Gupta, A., Hathi, P., Khurana, N., Spears, D., Srivastav, N., & Vyas, S. (2015). Understanding exceptionally poor sanitation in rural India. Rice Institute.
5/ Coffey, D., Gupta, A., Hathi, P., Khurana, N., Spears, D., Srivastav, N., & Vyas, S. (2015). Understanding exceptionally poor sanitation in rural India. Rice Institute
6/ World Bank. (2019). Shifting social norms to reduce open defecation in rural India.
7/ Coffey, D., Gupta, A., Hathi, P., Khurana, N., Spears, D., Srivastav, N., & Vyas, S. (2015). Understanding exceptionally poor sanitation in rural India. Rice Institute.
8/ Government of India. (2014). Safety, security and dignity of women. Swachh Bharat Mission.
