Shukhi & Piya's school got a new toilet

It is not just the toilet itself that has made the difference. It is also the recognition that girls' needs, situation and challenges are real. It is the signal that girls are important. Yes, that they are and are seen as a resource and a force in society, and that they have the right to be given the conditions to educate themselves and help shape their own future.

- This toilet affects our everyday life and our future. Now we have the opportunity to keep up better with education and thus we have better conditions for the future, says 15-year-old Piya Mong, one of the students at ABC Secondary School in Mithakhali.

Lack of protection has been a problem

The school has around 250 students in grades five to eight. Piya and his friend Shukhi Mony, 12, show off the school's new accessible toilet. It houses both a traditional toilet with a hole in the floor and a water toilet, the first in the area. There are also several new sinks and a cupboard full of everything a girl might need during her period.

- "When we haven't had access to sanitary towels, we've used clothes and other textiles as protection, but it's not very good because it's so unhygienic. The water we wash ourselves and our clothes in is not very clean either, and there are many risks of disease," says Piya.

School - a safe place

The girls' math teacher, Selina Akter, confirms that the toilet means a lot. The girls now feel much safer and their school attendance and results have improved significantly.

- In the past, when the girls had their periods, they avoided coming to school. Now they have access to everything they need to feel safe and hygienic here at school, and they miss less classes," she says.

Previously, all the school's students had to share two worn and very dirty toilets. The walls of which are not sealed, through gaps you could peek in even though the door was closed.

- The old toilet was so dirty, you didn't feel safe there," says Shukhi.
- "Yes, and there was always a queue, and since we didn't want to use them, we preferred to go home if we needed to go to the toilet. But because of the road, we rarely came back," says Piya. She adds:
- It feels great that we have a new toilet! It's so clean here, no dirt. There is running water and sanitary pads.

Fewer interruptions in schooling

Piya and Shukhi have a couple of kilometers to go to school and the road can be very busy. Despite this being the case for most of the school, they and many others usually chose to walk home to go to the toilet. Despite the fact that they would then miss classes, which clearly affected the results.

- The girls really didn't want to use the old toilets. Some of them avoided drinking water the whole school day so they wouldn't have to go," says Selina Akter. She continues:
- "It also took a lot out of the girls' concentration to keep thinking about how to avoid the toilet. They were unfocused but didn't want to talk about it either.
- Yes, now we are much more present in school than before. It feels safe and it feels fun to be here. We no longer miss so much of the school lessons," says Piya.