The women’s rights issue you’ve probably never thought of before.

This post is not supposed to make you think your problems are #firstworldproblems.

This post is not intended to make you feel middle class guilt.

I don’t want you to inspect your life and sarcastically think, ‘the struggle is real.’

We face very real problems in our lives.

As a community, women’s rights are threatened by things like unequal pay, lack of access to affordable and accessible childcare, paid parental leave and violence against women.

Closer to home, we grasp at straws trying to balance our work and family. We have to work extra hard to prove ourselves career wise. We labour over decisions for our children’s future.

I have these problems myself.

But when I reflect, I feel incredibly lucky that these are my problems.

One third of the world’s population live without access to proper toilet and sanitation facilities.

Where people have no other choice, they practice of open defecation. It’s not pleasant to think about, but this is the reality of life in many places.

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s’ Fund, reports that lack of sanitation facilities has serious repercussions. Every two minutes, a child dies of a diahorrea-related disease that could have been avoided. For the children that do survive the crisis, they are still disadvantaged. Children, and especially girls, miss out on an education because schools lack private and clean toilet facilities.

This disadvantage only increases for girls and women as they grow. Once girls begin to menstruate, a lack of access to proper sanitation at school means they drop out, losing their human right to access education.

When they become pregnant, the dangers to a woman and her unborn child from a lack of hygiene are very serious. The risk of infection is greatly increased and results in low birth weight and preterm birth.

But there is work being done to help overcome this crisis. Domestos is on a mission to combat poor sanitation and has partnered with UNICEF to help 25 million people gain improved access to a toilet by 2020.

You can help change a woman’s life too.

Every specially marked bottle of Domestos sold contributes directly to UNICEF’s global sanitation program.UNICEF’s program focuses on scaling up local efforts to increase access to safe hygiene and sanitation in regions that need it.

By buying a bottle of Domestos you can help UNICEF fund the construction of latrines, get children into schools and help women in developing nations keep their families safe and healthy.

You can also help by sharing the facts with your friends and family about the global sanitation crisis, by donating directing to UNICEF here and by becoming an Ambassador by downloading this online toolkit, which includes resources to help with fundraising.

You can help Domestos improve children’s and women’s lives today.