Few public toilets for women in Delhi: Survey -Governance Now

Few public toilets for women in Delhi: Survey

ActionAid India survey highlights concerns that women encounter in accessing public toilets in Delhi

GN Bureau | March 22, 2017

#Braille #disability #access #Delhi #women #toilets #ActionAid #running water

One in every three public toilets in Delhi do not have separate provision for women, according to an ActionAid India survey of public toilets in Delhi.

The survey carried out in December last year under the Peoples’ Vision of the City (PVoC) campaign found that nearly 35 per cent of surveyed public toilets in the city did not have separate sections for women. A total of 229 toilets maintained by the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and those outsourced to private agencies were covered during the exercise.

Read: In Kolkata, finding toilets for women is a challenge

The survey revealed that more than 71% of the toilets audited were not cleaned regularly. Cleanliness was also a major issue for toilet users who were interviewed during the process of the survey. Over 72% of the toilets lacked visible signboards, while 76% had no ramp facility and nearly 76% did not have sign boards in Braille language, making it hard for the blind to access public toilets.

Another finding was the prevalence of manual scavenging practice as septic tanks of nearly 38% of the toilets are cleaned manually.

Read: Toilet Tales: Mumbai marred by inadequate public infrastructure

When it comes to women's toilets, 149 toilets out of the 229 toilets surveyed had some provisions for women but functional issues like cleanliness, lack of hygiene and safety measures were found to be the key concerns.

More than 66% women's toilets did not have a working flush, while 53% did not have running water facility and over 51% did not have facility to wash hands. About 61% toilets did not have soap to use, which raises a concern regarding quality of public sanitation available for women.

It was also found that 28% toilets did not have doors, while 45% toilets did not have mechanism to lock from inside. Over half of them did not have lights neither inside the toilet nor in outer premises. What adds to safety concerns is that 46% of toilets are unguarded - a condition that shows lack of basic security provisions in the women’s public toilets.

Sehjo Singh, director programme and policy of ActionAid India said: “This obvious neglect of women’s human rights has gone unnoticed for too long and time has come to make this an important priority for the nation. The Peoples Vision of the City campaign strives to focus attention and deliver on this issue.”

Read: Toilet tales: Phew, few and raising a stink

Comments

Other News

Kartarpur Sahib: The corrdidor can show the way to peace

When the corridor to the Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, in Kartarpur (Pakistan), was opened for the pilgrims from India on November 9, prime minister Narendra Modi recalled the fall of Berlin Wall, which took place on the same date 30 years ago. The Berlin Wall collapse not only reunited the two Ge

On A Personal Note with Anees Bazmee, film writer, director and producer

Starting out as a child artist, in a career spanning more than three and half decades Anees Bazmee has written/directed more than 60 films in Hindi, Tamil and Marathi in a variety of genres. After writing films like ‘Hum Farishtey Nahin’, ‘Swarg’, and ‘Aankhen’, he d

Rafale review petitions dismissed

The supreme court on Thursday dismissed the petitions seeking a review of its December 2018 verdict on the Rafale deal. The bench found no merit in review petitions that had sought an investigation into the high-profile defence deal. “We don’t feel necessary to order FIR or rovin

Power struggle, stalemate lead to president’s rule in Maharashtra

Maharashtra has been placed under the president’s rule after the leading contenders failed to make a head start in government formation amid tussle for power. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari informed the president Tuesday that despite all efforts he did not see any possibility of gover

From Jal Shakti to Jal Prabandhan

This piece is based on a previous article by the authors published in Geoforum [Elsevier] in May 2019: available online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/ S0016718519300764?via%3Dihub

Shiv Sena set to form government in Maharashtra

The BJP’s oldest ally Shiv Sena is once again parting ways, putting their alliance behind and preparing to form government in Maharashtra with the support of the NCP and Congress. Nineteen days after the legislative assembly elections, despite a clear mandate for the BJP and Sena, Maha