The Public Washroom Debacle

“Jaha Soch, Wahan Sauchalaya”?

This was the tagline of the Swachh Bharat campaign launched in 2014. The campaign aimed to improve hygiene conditions by building more washrooms in public as well as private spaces.?

But what has been the progress so far??

Where do we stand in terms of menstrual hygiene when it comes to public washrooms?

These are some of the pertinent questions that we need to look at when we are talking about the successes of the Swachh Bharat campaign.?

At any given time, a quarter of women around the world are menstruating.

But there are no MHM products in most of the public washrooms.?

As per a study conducted in the city of Patna, it was found that at least 62.2% of women rarely change their pads in public washrooms or use public washrooms for menstrual hygiene purposes.

This study further found that 74.6% get uncomfortable if they need to change sanitary napkins.?

To know more about the study, head over to the link below.?

As a part of an advocacy project that I initiated, I conducted a survey regarding the experiences of menstruators in the city of Kolkata.?

The survey findings highlighted that more than 91% of the survey participants found it difficult to find a clean and functioning public washroom when needed during their menstruation.?

Moreover, all the survey participants stated that none of the public washrooms had any menstrual products. Not even something as basic as a handwash was there.?

Basic infrastructure like latches, tube lights, and taps was broken in a lot of these washrooms.?

To read more about the study, head over to the link below.?

You can also check out my menstrual health advocacy campaign by heading over to the link below.

Several other studies and official data have highlighted how the lack of proper functioning public washrooms has been a major impediment for most menstruators even in major metropolitan cities.?

The situation further worsens for the transgender community who has to undergo severe discrimination when they have to use the public washrooms. For transgender menstruators who already have to face a lot of stigmas, a lack of usable public washrooms is a major public health constraint.?

Here's what a transgender woman that I interviewed had to say.

"As a transgender, my access to washrooms is already limited, and on top of that my periods make it worse for me as most of them don't believe that I bleed too and that I need access to period products in the public washrooms."

Public amenities such as washrooms and period rooms (private spaces for menstruators) should be expanded for all menstruators. Not only should the number of public washrooms be increased, but also they should be well-maintained and inclusive for all, thereby making them period-friendly.

By period friendly, we mean that all the washrooms should have pad vending machines, proper lighting, water supply, dustbins, and proper locks in the washrooms to ensure safety and privacy.

However, not all is dark and gory in this aspect. There are also some silver linings as well.?

Some states are taking initiatives to improve the conditions of menstruators across gender.

For instance, the Delhi government has installed menstrual products in a lot of public washrooms across the city. Moreover, the government also has started the initiative to construct separate public washrooms for transgender as well in compliance with the NALSA judgment.?

More such initiatives are actively required on part of the government to ensure more equitable access to menstrual health management for menstruators.

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Until next time. Till then take care and keep the curious cat in you alive!