Women ‘holding it’ in urban India: Toilet avoidance as an under-recognized health outcome of sanitation insecurity

More burden less access: a study of sanitation issues in urban slums of Aligarh district

“…In urban areas, public toilets are considered more unsafe with fear of harassment, assaults and physical violence than open defecation sites, having implications of toilet usage by women (Kulkarni et al. , 2017; Panchang et al. , 2022; Chakravarthy et al.…”

“…However, low-quality toilets fall out of use, leading people resort to open defecation (Biswas and Joshi, 2021). The use of public toilets also has health implications, as women considering the local CTB (Community Toilet Blocks) to be unsafe had higher chances of general avoidance and diet restrictions (Panchang et al. , 2022).…”

“…Stress and more specifically, the gendered psychosocial stress can also be produced by social and cultural factors such as supernatural beliefs and gendered norms, as well as environmental factors like animal attacks and waterlogged sites of defecation, dirty condition of toilets and lack of water availability (Biswas and Joshi, 2021). Social and environmental constraints also place stress on women seeking safe, private sanitary facilities while crossing streams or railway tracks (Panchang et al. , 2022).…”

“…Further, the inadequate sanitation leading to women withholding their defecation needs; is becoming common among women in marginalised sections. Women are said to cope with limits by exercising “control” or “discipline” over their bodies, which refers to strategies to avoid urination or defecation, such as limiting food and liquid consumption throughout the day (Panchang et al. , 2022).…”

The Ends of Visibility

“…Critics point out that the lacking access to safe toilets impacts a range of problems that aggravate specific vulnerabilities of women, such as the fear of being subjected to sexualised violence and rape, but also give rise to numerous health problems, such as kidney disease, resulting from bathroom avoidance (cf. Panchang et al 2021). Once more, we see that the interrelation of visuality, identities, and intersectional justice require extended vocabularies of analysis that go beyond pre-defined categorical frameworks.…”