Women, queers flag public washroom security concerns in city survey
Times of India | 2 September 2025
Kolkata: As many as 54% of women, trans and queer people surveyed as part of a Kolkata study felt unsafe while using public toilets. The insecurity is accentuated by men stationed outside the women's toilets, inadequate lighting, and the absence of locks on the doors of the public toilets, the women and trans queer persons told Sabar Institute and Azad Foundation, which recently carried out the survey across the city.
The report on the Status of Public Toilets for Women and Trans Queer Persons in Kolkata, released on Monday at Rotary Sadan Hall, reveals that 52% of trans and queer people reported harassment at public toilets, and 62% of respondents said toilets are not accessible for women with disabilities.
The survey used two methods: quantitative and qualitative. The quantitative method surveyed 7,578 women and 38 trans and queer people across 142 Kolkata Municipal Corporation wards, while the qualitative method involved in-depth interviews with 100 women and trans and queer persons.
Most of the people surveyed (53%) are from the informal sectors.
Most of the respondents, 94%, said there are no sanitary pad vending machines or proper waste disposal facilities. Additionally, 60% reported that there are no soap or handwashing facilities, 56% spoke of poor cleanliness, and 51% said there is an inadequate supply of clean water in public toilets.
Around 23% of respondents reported health issues like urinary tract infections due to poor toilet conditions and spoke about reduced water intake to avoid using public toilets.
A majority of the respondents, 51%, felt that the inadequacy of inclusive and well-maintained public toilets restricts their mobility to work outside the home, impacting their income and working hours.
"Many women shared that they particularly refrain from attending work during menstrual cycles due to the absence of safe and clean public toilets, leading to deduction of wages, thus resulting in a gender-wage gap.
Interestingly, 73% of the respondents pay to use toilets, spending nearly 10% of their daily income just to relieve themselves, highlighting the harsh economic burden as the average monthly income of the respondents is around Rs 8,929," said lead member of the Sabar Institute research team, Ashin Chakraborty.
He added that despite being essential infrastructure, public toilets remain absent from public discourse, reflecting how society disregards the needs of working-class women and trans-queer individuals.
An app cab driver, Esnotara Khatun, who spends 10 to 12 hours on the road, shared, "It is difficult to get a usable toilet while on the road because it lacks basic hygiene with no running water, soap, and broken doors. Though we pay each time we use it, there is no cleanliness and safety. We regulate drinking much water as it would require us to use public toilets. This often results in health hazards and urine problems." Transgender activist Sintu Bagui pointed out that trans and queer people often feel "excluded" and "unseen" by authorities as public toilets are earmarked as male and female.
"It is common that transgenders are harassed while they try to access public toilets. There should be gender-neutral toilets, and proper hygiene should be maintained."
Chief functionary of Azad Foundation, Dolon Ganguly, pointed out that the lesser number of women and trans and queer persons' participation in the labour force in the informal sector is due to a few barriers, among which gender-inclusive public toilets are one of the major factors. "Our main aim is to share the recommendations with KMC and carry out an advocacy programme with them so that more gender-inclusive public toilets are made, stressing cleanliness, hygiene, and safety," she added.