- Sushil Adhikari
Let's talk about Toilet today!! I am not going to talk about funny thing, but just trying to raise serious issue! Doctors often advise us to drink adequate water daily. But I am ashamed to admit that I drink less water while traveling in the city not because I have no enough water or pure drinking water in my home but because what we do not have here in the town is accessible & disabled friendly public toilets.
I always struggle in finding accessible public toilets in Kathmandu, and can't imagine the situation of those rural parts where people are still using open-drained toilets! More than this fact, persons who use wheel-chairs have to encounter a severe hardship accessing and entering into the public toilets due to narrow space that doesn't let wheel-chair in! We put the men in the moon, we often talk about settling civilization in the planet, but why aren't we thinking about a simple problem that is affecting thousands of people with disabilities accessing toilet? Making accessible public toilet is not rocket science, is it? Persons with disabilities also have equal rights to health and sanitation and must be ensured accessibility in public spots! So on the occasion of the World Toilet Day, 19th Nov, we, with many voices but with one chorus, want to raise awareness on disabilities rights to public health. We imagine building big mansion, but still we don't know how to provide and keep our toilets clean accessible and sanitary, what to say! Clean and accessible toilet is essentially a matter of decency, dignity and mindfulness! Today the World Toilet Day, while observing in the world, just want to leave a question to think and act: What about the rights of persons with disabilities? Not just clean toilets should be built but education and awareness on keeping them hygienic and accessible is what we all need!!