School Toilets in Bihar, India

November 03, 2015 | Pulitzer Center

Ann Schraufnagel

Karanpur School in rural Bihar, India. A few years ago, before a toilet was built for girls at the school, female students had no choice but to relieve themselves in the small cornfield in the corner of the school compound. Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

Girls at Karanpur School report that before a toilet was built for them, boys would follow them to the cornfield where they went to relieve themselves. 10-year-old Golu Kumari said, “They would stand there and watch us. Our stomachs would start hurting because we wouldn’t go. Then we wouldn’t feel well so we would take the rest of the day off from school.” Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

Usha Jha, a science teacher for 40 years at Karanpur School, stands in front of the cornfield where female students used to relieve themselves before a separate toilet was built for girls. She avoided drinking water during the day, as toilets were not available for female teachers. Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

A poster used to teach students at Karanpur School about the health impacts of open defecation. Usha Jha believes that the curriculum is evolving as more time is being spent teaching children about the importance of good sanitation. Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

A class at Karanpur School. In this district of Bihar, 70 percent of homes do not have a toilet: The girls raising their hands are included in this 70 percent. Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

Archana Pathak taught English at Karanpur School. She said her female students’ academic performances suffered due to the lack of a toilet at school. Some girls were dehydrated and unable to concentrate; older girls had no place in school to change their sanitary napkins. Pathak worked with other teachers to get a girls’ toilet built at Karanpur School. Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

This toilet for girls was built at Karanpur School a few years ago. The simple one-pit toilet is located in the corner of the school compound and offers female students the ability to relieve themselves and change their sanitary napkins in private. Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

The boys’ toilets at Karanpur School were constructed years before a toilet was built for girls. When asked why, with equal numbers of male and female students, boys had twice the number of toilets as girls, Pathak shrugged and responded simply: “This is a male dominated society.” Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

Girls in class at Karanpur School. University of Chicago sanitation policy expert Anjali Adukia believes that school sanitation has the potential to change open defecation practices in India. “Children have a lot of influence in communities: they go home, they can nag their parents; they teach their brothers and sisters; they talk to their friends. They’re pretty powerful social change agents. So I think if we are not focusing on school sanitation, or on children in some way, we’re really missing a huge opportunity.” Image by Ann Schraufnagel. India 2015.

India is in the midst of a sanitation crisis: Over 600 million people defecate outside every day leading to dire public health consequences of premature death from diarrheal illness, stunting of cognitive and physical growth of children, and violence against girls and women as they search for private places to relieve themselves. The Indian government seeks to end open defecation by promoting toilet construction in homes and schools nationwide. In Bihar, a poor state in northern India, this has added to individual and grassroots efforts to improve school sanitation.