Pioneering effort of Samarthyam to provide Water, Sanitation, Hygiene (WASH) and accessible toilets for persons with disabilities, which are gender sensitive, age and disable friendly. Samarthyam celebrates 19th November “World Toilet Day” and create awareness on availability of accessible & functional WASH facilities in schools, public spaces and household toilets. Samarthyam’s key partners in this initiative are as follows:

• UNICEF 
• UNESCO 
• Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India 
• Indian Railways
• Delhi Metro Rail Corporation 
• Schools & educational institutions

Accessible WASH- policy advocacy with Civic Agencies and City Officers to:

• Ensure Universal Access to Sanitation including in all households, schools, health centres, work places, public buildings and public spaces/places. Ensure access to accessible toilets and safe drinking water in all situations including disasters, emergencies, conflicts and migration. 
• Ensure access to accessible toilets and safe drinking water to make them usable and accessible for the entire population, with a special emphasis on poor and marginalized areas and groups, and develop separate sanitation investment plans to bridge these service gaps in both rural and urban areas including slums. 
• Include specific measures to increase community participation, particularly of women and persons with disabilities, in planning, implementation and management of sanitation services, and for improving transparency and accountability. 
• Develop participatory multi-stakeholder monitoring mechanism for annual reporting against clear indications for poor, marginalized and excluded groups, including people with disabilities, women, children and older people. 
• Address the stigma of impurity and pollution ascribed to sanitation especially to menstruation and to those providing sanitation services, and ensure that services are provided in a gender, age, disability and culturally sensitive manner, consistent with human rights and dignity.

Accessible Toilets

Women and girls with disabilities fare less well in the Indian educational arena and low access to work than either their male counter parts or other women without disabilities due to lack of accessible amenities such as toilets. There are fewer toilets for women than men in public places, educational institutions and work places, which pose health and safety threats. Additionally, it leads to urinary/ kidney disorders for most. Women and girls are forced to defecate in the open either in the early hours of dawn or after dark and many times have to walk long distances to collect water thereby, increase their vulnerability to harassment and violence, including sexual abuse. Moreover, girls and women with disabilities are bodily lifted by their family members/ carers; transferred with soil clothes, which aggravates health hazards and they become more prone to abuse and violence. Situation gets worse during menstruation cycle and there are no safe and dignified means for menstruation hygiene management for them.

Samarthyam continues policy advocacy with action oriented approach to bring change in the lives of girls and women with disabilities.

The State has signed the UNCRPD and Article 9 Accessibility, stipulates universal design in and it should be implemented especially in toilet designs. The States must:

• Reduce vulnerabilities to violence by providing accessible, functional and hygienic toilet facilities with running water for menstruation hygiene management for girls and women with disabilities. 
• Provide appropriate access to water and sanitation facilities, including health, dignity, convenience, and safety. 
• Make public spaces and transportation infrastructure accessible and safe.