Why women do not use washrooms at railway stations
Mumbai: A college project by first year Bachelor of Arts (FYBA) students of St Xavier’s College, Dhobi Talao, has revealed startling facts about the condition of women’s toilets at Mumbai’s railway stations
Mumbai: A college project by first year Bachelor of Arts (FYBA) students of St Xavier’s College, Dhobi Talao, has revealed startling facts about the condition of women’s toilets at Mumbai’s railway stations.
One thousand female railway commuters surveyed brought attention to the lack of hygiene, security and unavailability of washrooms at several railway stations. Most complained that existing toilets are dirty and stink, with missing female attendants.
The students covered 21 stations across Western, Central and Harbour railways, including Churchgate, CSMT, Mumbai Central, Kurla, Malad, Vasai, Naigaon, Bandra, Santacruz and Borivali, among others.
Only 30% of the respondents said they had used a washroom on a railway platform, while another 21.8% said they used one only in desperate times. The rest have never used a toilet at railway stations, showed the survey. It further highlighted how among those who used the washrooms, 73.4% complained about the absence of basic hygiene standards.
83.5% respondents found them dirty while another 77% complained of persistent odour. 47.9% women spoke about malfunctioning flushes while another 42% said the locks were defunct. Many in fact didn’t use the washroom due to security concerns -- 33.7% respondents found no female attendants, 16.5% found men inside the ladies’ toilets and another 24.7% found lights missing.
In the past, the Railway Board has discussed provisions of sanitary napkins and tampons for passengers inside the stations, and a number of NGOs have set-up sanitary dispensers at select railway stations. 36% didn’t know such a facility existed while only 1.9% respondents said they had managed to get sanitary pads and 14% said pads were unavailable. 48.1% of the respondents also said they have never looked for such dispensers at railway stations.
“We also asked the respondents if they would be willing to pay a higher fee to use the toilet as long as hygiene is maintained – 15% showed reluctance towards using the toilets at all, while the rest were open to the concept. This shows that women are desperate for washroom facilities, and are only concerned about cleanliness and security,” said Navya Mayekar, one of the students from the group.