Female-friendly toilets sought at edu institutions

Many schools and colleges in Chattogram don’t have female friendly toilets and sanitation facilities. This forces female students to miss classes during their menstruation period, as they don’t want to use unhygienic toilets, speakers said at a programme yesterday. 

They were speaking at a workshop titled “Elimination of Inequalities in Sanitation” held at the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE), Chattogram organised by Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK).

The speakers emphasised the need to set up female friendly toilets in all educational institutions across the port city.

Sumon Roy, executive engineer of DPHE, Chattogram, said, “It is the responsibility of DPHE to establish toilets in all primary  schools of the country located outside city corporations,” adding, “We will ensure water sanitation and hygiene in all  primary schools of the country by the next five years.”

He aligned  the workshop’s theme with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), saying “ensuring clean water and sanitation is a key focus of the SDGs.”

However,  government organisations cannot achieve this goal alone, he added,  urging social and non-government organisations to come forward and play a  vital role.

Abida Azad, a ward councillor of Chattogram City Corporation (CCC), said students don’t want to risk infections and other diseases by using the unhygienic toilets and sanitation facilities found across many educational institutions in the city.

This makes it necessary to provide schools and colleges with adequate and hygienic  toilet facilities and safe water, she added. She lauded the role of DSK and other NGOs in raising awareness among  people on hygiene related issues.

Among others, Sanjoy Das, unit manager, DSK, Chattogram; CCC councillors in reserved seats for women Farzana Parvin and Anjuman Ara Begum also spoke at the event. CCC ward-32 councillor (Anderkilla) Jaharlal Hazari chaired the session.