Sanitation in india: role of women’s education

Background: It is well known that sanitary practices play a key role in building healthy communities. In many developing countries such as India, lacks of toilet facilities contribute to appallingly poor sanitary conditions. Many studies have found that the demand for sanitary toilet types increases with education. The aim of the present study was to explore in detail the relationship between type of toilette facilities and women’s educational level in India. Method and Material: Data from the Third National Family Health Survey 2007 (NFHS-3) of India is used in this study. Correspondence analysis is used to examine the association between toilet type in use and women’s education at the individual level. Results: Correspondence analysis isolated several significant associations between categories of education and types of toilet facilities. The category ‘complete secondary’ is associated with ‘flush to septic’ while ‘high level of education’ is associated with ‘flush to piped sewer’. Thus, with increases in women’s education, quality of toilet facility improves steadily. It is likely that general education brings about awareness and positive attitudes toward select use of sanitary toilet types. Conclusion: Enriching the curriculum at the secondary school level with facts and concepts of sanitation is likely to improve sanitary toilet practices. In general it appears that educational campaigns to improve women’s education in India can also be effective in bringing about awareness and positive attitudes toward select use of sanitary toilet types.

Author(s): Pillai Vijayan

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