In India: Forget the Diamond Ring, Brides Want Ceramic

The Washington Post had a good story yesterday about how impoverished women in rural India are increasingly demanding that their houses be equipped with toilets. There apparently is a movement advocating that families refuse to allow their daughters to marry unless the prospective husband builds them a commode. As the story says:

…since a “No Toilet, No Bride” campaign started about two years ago, 1.4 million toilets have been built here in the northern state of Haryana, some with government funds, according to the state’s health department… “I won’t let my daughter near a boy who doesn’t have a latrine,” said Usha Pagdi, who made sure that daughter Vimlas Sasva, 18, finished high school and took courses in electronics at a technical school. “No loo? No ‘I do,’ ” Vimlas said, laughing as she repeated a radio jingle.

The story is a reminder of both how quickly India is developing — and how far it still has to go. Some 650 million people in India have no access to a toilet, meaning that when nature calls they have to head out into nature. But often, even in rural India, there isn’t a nice, sheltered spot to use. Anyone who has ever taken a train journey in India is familiar with the sight of villagers sauntering down to the railroad line in the early morning to relieve themselves along the tracks. This is particularly hard on women, since they have little privacy. And because they can’t discretely urinate in public, the way men frequently do here, women may only get one opportunity to go each day.

But the story is also a reminder of the extent to which development is tied to women’s empowerment. It is women who are driving the trend towards toilets — just as they are behind so many other modernization efforts. And, as the story points out, in an ironic twist, the terrible way in which women are regarded in some parts of India- where because of dowry practices, daughters are considered a financial burden and female feticide rates are high — is helping to empower the women who remain. (At least, it is giving them a lot more power at the point of marriage.)  Since female feticide has resulted in a skewed sex ratio in many places — with too many bachelors and too few single women — brides can demand a lot more from prospective grooms, including toilets. I wonder if this will result in a reversal of some dowry practices? Anyway, it is an interesting story — check it out.