The Problems Indian Women Face With Public Toilets

General

After the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the numbers of Public toilets have increased across India,
but the problem women face regarding access to as well as dangers while using public
toilets has remained the same.

Appreciating the existing public toilets though, there are challenges that women face when in
use of the toilets. Many women who access public toilets have issues with privacy and
safety, other than this hygiene remains constant for both genders. Women risk shame,
disease, harassment, and even attack because they have no safe toilets. When they do find
a private place to relieve themselves, they expose themselves to the dangers of rape and
violation. Lack of water supply and sanitation is also a major problem faced by public toilets.
In addition to the lack of clean sanitation facilities in public spaces, it is also very hard for
women to find functional and safe toilets when they travel. Despite a fair understanding of
the negative consequences of the lack of proper sanitation facilities for women, little exists in
solving women’s specific needs in sanitation. This is further noticed, where the focus
continues to be on the fulfillment of basic requirements in general, without adequate
attention to the special needs of women.

The number of toilets for men and women differs, men have more toilets whereas women
toilets are half of it or less than what is provided for men. Men have urinals but women
compulsorily require a toilet seat which is less in number.

One issue related to why women have to wait longer for toilet access has been that women
take more time in using the toilet, and hence even when there is an equal number of men’s
and women’s toilets, women have to wait longer.

The infrastructure of Public Toilets

Some of the key issues that need to be addressed are

Public toilets are available in cities but what about in rural areas?

Do women have separate public toilets?

In cities public toilets are available but in rural women don’t have any public toilets. Rural
areas which are either not maintained or don’t have sanitation and water supply, resulting in
women defecating in open land with improper privacy and unhygienic conditions.
Census 2011 [source: India News] said 53.1% of households in India did not have toilets.
The figure is 69.3% in rural India. The National Human Rights Commission has indicated
that more toilets will put a curb on rapes. We can see people squatting near railway tracks
near the countryside.

Education is promoted in rural areas but when a girl is educated she will not accept to go in
open spaces to defecate.

Why are public toilets failing in rural areas? Is it bad governance or the public?

In many cases, both the government and the public are the reason for the failure of public
toilets for women. In rural latrines are not given priority by the government and are
neglected.

Places that have public toilets for women don’t use it because it lacks sanitation, or they face
different problems like privacy and safety concerns. Public toilets in cities have social spaces
around them which is not the same case in rural areas. Long queue in few places due to less
number of toilets for women. The design, layout, and location of a public toilet in rural areas
are neglected and do not match the standards due to which women suffer privacy concerns.

Men near public toilets are more than women due to the location context resulting in women
hesitating to use those toilets. Women in rural areas are vulnerable to harassment and
assault while going to defecate outside merely because too many women in rural areas are
vulnerable to harassment and assault at all times. Public toilets also lack baby changing
areas. This affects women because they are the primary caregivers.

Mothers with babies always have a difficult task finding a place when they need to change
diapers for their babies in public. According to an interview done by Scroll.in with 1046
women, in which 4.3% of women said that someone attempted to molest them while going to
the toilet. Toilet construction and toilet use are what rural people need. The needs of Women
especially need to be addressed. Public toilets in most cases do not have facilities that cater
to their needs. They have to get a helper to ease their struggle in the use of the toilets.
Young girls are becoming the victims of rapes in villages while they are going to use public
toilets and no one to look over this concern.