States that have a low number of government schools with girls’ toilets also tend not to have toilets for boys or household latrines, suggesting that this may be an overall infrastructure problem. The ramparts of the Red Fort are a familiar location for discussions of great importance. They are rarely, however, used as a venue to talk about toilets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was happy to change that tradition on Independence Day. “You must be getting shocked to hear the Prime Minister speaking of cleanliness and the need to build toilets from the ramparts of the Red Fort,” he said.

“But this is my heartfelt conviction. I come from a poor family, I have seen poverty. The poor need respect and it begins with cleanliness…I want to make a beginning today itself and that is – all schools in the country should have toilets, with separate toilets for girls.” The idea is simple: just like mid-day meals have given children a reason to stay in schools, the lack of latrines should not be the reason girls are staying away

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