By Youth Ki Awaaz and SHRI:
If you thought caste differences in India were long gone, the next episode of #GiveAShit will prove you wrong.
In his speech ‘The Annihilation of Caste’, B.R Ambedkar spoke explicitly about the evils of caste. He was writing to raise the collective Indian consciousness on just how oppressive this socio-religious hierarchy is. This video explores how caste divisions are alive and well in rural India, and how they impact outcomes related to sanitation.
Follow Sunita Kumar and her husband who belong to the Dom caste (one of the many marginalised castes in India) as they deal with discrimination, lack of access to toilets and a questionable Government rule around building one.
Half of India’s 1.2 billion people defecate (poop) outside, in the open every day. That is twice the population of the United States of America. This has severe consequences on the health, society and economy of India. With over 100,000 tons of untreated human waste out in the open – it is a serious health risk, especially for children under the age of 5. Outdoor defecation also poses a serious security threat to women and girls. Economically, India spends nearly $54 Billion (6% of GDP) in countering open defecation.
Though the PM has launched India’s Swachh Bharat Mission with the aim of making India open defecation free by 2019, the ground reality goes far beyond building just toilets.
#GiveAShit highlights what India’s rural poor believe are the implications of life without a toilet and the structural flaws that prevent millions from gaining access to a toilet.
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