Bhopal, June 1: The Madhya Pradesh government has rewarded women with guns for encouraging villagers to use hygienic toilets instead of defecating in the open.
Nineteen women in Rewa district bordering Uttar Pradesh have been given gun licences for their exemplary work under the Nirmal Gram Yojna, which aims at achieving “total sanitation” in rural areas.
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan visited Rewa on May 24 and announced the “prize”. Rewa superintendent of police, Mohammad Shahid Absar, said: “Guns in the dacoit-infested Rewa district are the ultimate social status symbol. There are over 14,000 applications seeking gun licences, out of which only a few dozen succeed in meeting the strict criteria.” (…)
(…) Madhya Pradesh has another instrument to encourage sanitation in villages. According to clause 36 of the MP Panchayati Raj and Gram Swaraj Act, 1993, if elected representatives at the grassroots level fail to install toilets within a year of being elected, they would be disqualified.
Sanitation Updates 
I am personally horrified that weapons which cause death and disablement are considered a suitable “prize” for women working in this vital field, while at the same time, women all over the world through groups like IANSA are trying to stop the spread of firearms.