For a change to be successfully implemented and accepted by the general public, we need to take a multi-pronged approach. Stakeholders including the GoI, NGOs, universities and educational institutions, and even corporate India need to work with the LGBTQ+ community to ensure that their rights are adequately represented, their points of view are considered and that the messages that are going out to the larger public resonate right.
In the modern era, a powerful movement for recognition and rights has surged forth on behalf of the Hijra community in India. A watershed moment arrived in 2014 when the Supreme Court of India officially acknowledged Hijras as a 'third gender'.
By drawing a straight line from toilet hygiene to preventable diseases that ravage our communities and lead to an unacceptable number of deaths in children under the age of 5, the GoI's message was one that resonated all over the country.
We still have a long way to go before toilet hygiene and good sanitation practices become second nature for all Indians. We still hold on to some antiquated mindsets about toilet care.