When Prime Minister Modi, speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, stressethe need for proper sanitation and talked about building toilets, many felt uncomfortable at how "inappropriate" the stage was. But can they refute the reality of open defecation in India? Can they deny that women in our country are still forced to defecate out in the open? Can they honestly say that the dignity of an Indian woman is being upheld when she has to step out late at night or in the early hours of dawn to relieve herself?

Young girls between the ages of 12 and 18 are missing 5 days of school every month during their menstrual cycle because schools can't afford to build toilets.

A senior police official in Bihar has said that 400 women would have "escaped" rape last year if they had toilets in their homes.