72% Kolkata women pay 10% of daily income to use public toilets

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A recent study has revealed critical gaps in Kolkata’s public sanitation infrastructure, and highlighted alarming issues related to safe, hygienic, and inclusive public toilets.

Conducted by Sabar Institute and Azad Foundation, the study found that over two-thirds (72%) of women in Kolkata spend nearly 10% of their daily income just to access public toilets.

According to a report by The Indian Express, despite the cost, 61% of respondents reported the absence of soap or hand-wash facilities, while 56% cited unclean surroundings. Additionally, more than half of transgender and queer respondents reported experiencing harassment inside toilets.

The study noted that many women even reduce their water intake to avoid using unhygienic facilities, risking their health in the process.

While urban planning has expanded transport and connectivity, the basic necessity of sanitation remains neglected.

Few toilets at Howrah, Sealdah railway stations

The study highlights a significant gender disparity in toilet facilities at Kolkata's Howrah and Sealdah railway stations, with Howrah having fewer women's toilets (19) than men's (33) and Sealdah having only a slight imbalance (24 for women, 23 for men). These stations collectively handle a daily footfall of 2 million passengers, indicating they are severely under-equipped to meet the needs of the public.

As per the report, the lack of safe, hygienic, and inclusive public toilets for women in the informal sector, such as street vendors, domestic workers, and cleaners, is not just an inconvenience but a direct economic setback.

The absence of safety is another pressing concern. Shockingly, at least 38% women reported that toilets lack proper locks and latches on doors, posing a serious security risk. Many sites were even monitored by male staff instead of female guards.

For women working as drivers, the crisis is even more personal, the report added.

“While driving, when I get a sudden urge to urinate, I have to keep roaming around miles after miles to find a public toilet. Even Newtown is developed but lacks public toilets, Sealdah as well. Many times, I had to pause trip bookings to look for toilets,” Archana, a Pink Cab driver, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

As per the report, the issue even extends to government offices, where toilets are often insufficient, inaccessible, or poorly maintained.

“In a clinic, the doctor, receptionist, and patients are allowed to use the bathroom, whereas a female medical representative is restricted. She might even be pregnant and has to wait for hours to meet the doctor, yet is denied access. There is no clear reason why she is not allowed to use the bathroom, they just won’t let her,” Swati Moitra, Assistant Professor, English Department, Gurudas College, University of Calcutta, told The Indian Express.

The study recommended improving female hygiene facilities at public toilets by introducing sanitary napkin vending machines, ensuring continuous water supply, hand wash facilities, female staff deployment, and adequate lighting.

“If a trans-man who has undergone hormone injections and grown facial hair tries to enter a ladies’ toilet, they are often rejected because women presume them to be men. However, that person may still have female reproductive organs. When asked to use the men’s toilet, they face another problem most men’s toilets only have urinals and not cubicles. Moreover, if that person starts menstruating, they won’t find any sanitary pad vending machines in the men’s toilets,” Koyel Ghosh, managing trustee of Sappho for Equality, was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.