Tribal woman risks marriage for the sake of toilet!

Bhopal/Betul, Feb 17: A tribal woman from Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, who almost "risked" her marriage over sanitary facilities has not only emerged as the role model for the cause but also become a brand ambassador for the cleanliness drive.

Anita Narre's insistence on having a toilet at her in-law's place not only compelled her husband to take up the issue with Panchayat at his native in Jheetudhana in Betul district but also made Sulabh International adopt Anita's village for its "Total Cleanliness Drive".

"We have decided to award Rs five lakh to Anita for taking a bold initiative and risking her marriage for the sake of a toilet," Sulabh's Chairman Dr Bindeshwar Pathak told PTI over phone from New Delhi.

"This will definitely motivate other Indian girls, specially in villages, to ensure that when their parents marry them they must see that there is a toilet at their in-laws place," said Pathak who will soon publish a book on toilets in 24 languages.

He would provide five copies each of the book to all the panchayats of the country. When 23-year-old Anita got married to Shivram Narre on May 13, 2011, she got the shock of her life as there is no toilet at her in-law's place.

As there were hardly any lavatories in the village either the villagers would go to open field to relieve themselves.

PTI