“We do not have access to proper， clean sanitation. Please take us out of this hell，” say a 24-year-old Suriya vehemently.

In a nation which is desperate to achieve its high-flying economic miracle， the issue of lack of proper toilet facility is an alarming fact especially for women. More than half of the women population suffer from the abysmally poor condition of sanitation not having access to toilets. Poor， young girls and women of rural areas and urban slums face a daily battle of their urge to answer a call of nature.

Poor sanitation facility is interlinked with the dignity of women because it touches their very intimate lives. This is the most basic necessity of human life. However， inability to meet this fundamental need has become a distant dream in the 21st century in the land which first introduced sanitation facility to the world in the early ages.

“我們?nèi)狈Ω蓛羰孢m的衛(wèi)生設(shè)施。請把我們帶出這個地獄，”24歲的素里亞激動地說。

一個正雄心勃勃急于實現(xiàn)經(jīng)濟奇跡的國家，卻沒有足夠像樣的洗手間設(shè)施，這是讓人難以置信的，尤其對女性而言更是如此。在這里，一半以上的女性人口忍受著骯臟不堪的衛(wèi)生間狀況。那些來自農(nóng)村和城市貧民區(qū)的貧苦家庭的少女和婦女每天都要為解決她們的生理需求而抗?fàn)帯?/p>

惡劣的衛(wèi)生設(shè)施嚴(yán)重傷害了婦女的尊嚴(yán)，因為它觸及到了她們生活中最為隱私的部分。而這卻是人生活中最基本的需求。然而，在21世紀(jì)的今天，滿足這一基本需要卻成為這個國家一個遙遠(yuǎn)的夢，雖然該國是歷史上最早使用衛(wèi)生設(shè)施的國家。

World Toilet Day is marked on November 19th by the UN to focus attention on a critical health condition. India has more elaborate temples than functioning toilets， leaving the females in the most vulnerable condition. In fact， godliness should come after cleanliness. India， with 1.2 billion people is far from providing adequate sanitation to all.

Many girls attend schools without proper toilet facilities. Lack of privacy consequently causes many girls to drop out of schools after they reach puberty. Here， females are entwined in the vicious cycle of poverty. They do not get education； subsequently find no way to have a decent income for their survival.

Women do not relieve themselves during the day or in an open atmosphere， unlike men. Thereby， they wait hours and hours till darkness falls to maintain privacy. However， open defecation has become an inevitable reality in their daily lives. They do not have choice other than performing their morning ablutions in open places. In the populous cities with heavy traffic snarls， women living in slums would find nowhere to defecate. They are forced to squat on roadsides， agricultural fields， railway tracks and open fields. This is a daily indignity for them.

The places women defecate are infested with disposals which pose serious threats to their delicate health. With nowhere to go， they are compelled to use these unsafe and unsanitary places. Even， their water intake is less to avoid peeing in the fields which causes bladder control in turn. This makes them sick and anemic. Their menstrual cycle gets affected due to poor sanitation.

聯(lián)合國規(guī)定11月19日為世界廁所日，以號召人們關(guān)注當(dāng)下惡劣的衛(wèi)生狀況。在印度，美輪美奐的廟宇都要比能正常使用的廁所多，這使女性陷入十分不利的境地。事實上，潔凈是應(yīng)該先于虔誠的。然而，擁有12億人口的印度還遠(yuǎn)不能為其人民提供足夠的衛(wèi)生設(shè)施。

在很多有女孩就讀的學(xué)校中，沒有像樣的洗手間設(shè)施。因為缺乏隱私，很多女孩進(jìn)入青春期后只好從學(xué)校輟學(xué)。女性深陷在貧困的惡性循環(huán)中。她們得不到教育，進(jìn)而就找不到體面的工作來維持生計。

不同于男性，女性不能在白天或戶外解決其生理需求。因而，為了保護隱私，她們不得不一小時一小時捱過，等待黑夜的降臨。然而，露天排便已成為她們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪袩o可避免的現(xiàn)實。她們不得不在公開的空間洗漱。而在人口密集和交通擁擠的城市，生活在貧民窟的婦女卻找不到地方來“解決問題”，只好被迫蹲在路邊，農(nóng)田，鐵路軌道和公共區(qū)域內(nèi)解決。這對她們而言，無異于是日復(fù)一日的侮辱。

此外，女性如廁的地方滿是垃圾，這給她們脆弱的健康狀況帶來嚴(yán)重威脅。她們無處可去，被迫選擇這些不安全和不干凈的地方。她們甚至不得不減少喝水，從而避免在野外如廁，這又會使她們?nèi)菀谆忌吓c膀胱有關(guān)的疾患和其他疾病，比如貧血。惡劣的衛(wèi)生條件也使她們的月經(jīng)周期紊亂。

This dire situation leads to a major safety risk for women who always get attacked and affected by voyeurism while using common toilets. The common toilets are built at a distance and the way to the toilets is very murky. In some instances， half drunken males hide behind the bush at night to molest the girls who pass the route to the public toilets. Women have reported several incidents of men hiding near latrines and harassing them.

Moreover， windows of the common toilets are not high and locks are not in a functional condition. These put women in danger. The roofs are open， casting their privacy to the air. They are charged for entry each time. This restricts their usage and not everyone is in a position to pay for this basic necessity. Hence， women have to queue to get access to the common toilets during peak hours. Sanitation crisis affects them physically as well as psychologically.

In villages， a few households have proper sanitation facilities. Parents fear to send their girl children alone to the field because of safety risk. The girls or women invite unnecessary attention， inappropriate physical gestures， lewd remarks and shameless stares from goons. Women generally do the disposal of the human feaces. When provision of sanitation is inadequate， they are more prone to diseases associated with human excreta.

Unlike men who ease themselves conveniently both in cities and rural areas， women suffer the most as their basic need， in most cases， is not made to be met in public places. This grim reality， the women face disproportionate to their numbers， signals a deadly crisis in India.

如此悲慘的境地又造成了女性的另一個主要安全風(fēng)險——她們在使用公共廁所時，極易遭到侵犯和偷窺。公共廁所一般都比較遠(yuǎn)，去廁所的小路往往昏暗隱蔽。有時喝醉的男性會在晚上藏匿于公廁路邊的灌木叢后面，騷擾來如廁的女性。多個受害女性稱，有男子藏身于附近公共廁所，并對她們進(jìn)行騷擾。

此外，公共廁所的窗戶不高，鎖也常常是壞的。這就把婦女置于危險的境地。而且屋頂是開放的，毫無隱私可言。她們?nèi)鐜创螖?shù)收費，從而限制了公廁的使用，并不是每個人都有能力為基本需求支付費用。因此，婦女們不得不在高峰時段在公共廁所前排隊等候。衛(wèi)生危機對她們的身體及心理都產(chǎn)生了極壞的影響。

在村莊里，僅有少數(shù)家庭擁有像樣的衛(wèi)生設(shè)施。家長出于安全考慮，一般不愿意讓他們的女兒單獨去田地。女孩或婦女往往會招來暴徒可疑的打量、下流的肢體動作、污穢的言語和無恥的目光。一般都是由女性來處理糞便，因而當(dāng)衛(wèi)生設(shè)施缺乏時，她們還更容易患上由人類糞便傳染的相關(guān)疾病。

男人可以在城市和鄉(xiāng)村露天如廁，而女性卻不能，因為她們的基本需求不能在公眾場合得到滿足。婦女人口與女廁的數(shù)目嚴(yán)重不成比例，這殘酷的現(xiàn)實敲響了印度的致命危機。

Not all sufferings of women are brought to the notice of the authorities. Many women remain tight lipped about being molested or sexually harassed or eve-teased. This is because of the stigma attached at the time of their marriage. They are numb with shock. Ironically， women have to protect themselves from every scratch on their way. Not all women symbolize a phoenix. Many are tied down by the family and some become disconsolate. The rest are silenced for life.

The interesting fact is that many Indians， especially women households have mobile phones of their own but not toilets at homes. In a sense， it is not right to compare big brands of mobile phones with proper toilets.

The importance of the role of toilet remains mute in their lives. The newspapers do not report the seriousness of this issue but that does not mean the land is meeting the basic need of the citizens. Interestingly， the reports tell a different story altogether which is contrary to what is in reality. Never has the power of having loo of one’s own， especially of poor been in the agenda of the responsible authorities.

并不是所有女性的苦難都得到了政府的關(guān)注。許多婦女仍然對曾經(jīng)被騷擾或性侵的經(jīng)歷三緘其口。因為她們擔(dān)心這會影響她們婚后的名聲。太多的震驚已經(jīng)讓她們麻木。諷刺的是，婦女必須時刻警惕她們可能遇到的種種障礙，并不是所有的女性都能跟鳳凰一樣。很多婦女還忍受著家庭的束縛，還有一些婦女因此變得郁郁不樂。其余則都選擇終生沉默。

有趣的是，很多印度人，尤其是有女性的家里都有手機，但卻沒有廁所。在某種意義上，比較大品牌的移動電話和像樣的廁所是不可同日而語的。

洗手間的重要性在人們的生活中仍然無人提及。報紙不會報告這個問題的嚴(yán)重性，但這并不意味著這個國家就能夠滿足公民的基本需要。有趣的是，報道中的內(nèi)容是與現(xiàn)實生活往往大相徑庭。是否有屬于自己的廁所，尤其是對窮人而言，從來不是一個負(fù)責(zé)任的政府應(yīng)該討論的議程。

Jairam Ramesh， the Rural Development Minister of India， has supported a “no toilet， no bride” campaign to shame men into building latrines. Toilets have then become a precondition for marriage registration in many villages. Also there are cases where girls refused to marry guys who did not have a toilet at home. Women’s dignity and healthy living should be assured， and effort to tackle the dearth of toilets should be implemented in constructive ways.

Indian writer Shobhaa De states， “If millions of Indian women still have to wait for these cover of darkness to perform their daily business， we cannot call ourselves a civilized country.”

印度農(nóng)村發(fā)展部長拉米什推廣過一個名為“沒廁所，就娶不到新娘”的運動，以逼迫印度男性建造廁所。這之后，廁所已成為許多村子結(jié)婚登記的前提條件。有些女孩拒絕嫁給家里沒有廁所的男人。我們應(yīng)該維護婦女的尊嚴(yán)和健康，并采取建設(shè)性措施，努力解決洗手間不足的問題。

印度作家紹哈德指出，“如果數(shù)以百萬計的印度婦女仍然要等待黑暗降臨才能解決日常的需求，我們不能稱自己為一個文明的國家”。