The chat room: In gender-blind Bengaluru, women can't pee

Showing rare sensitivity, Delhi has allowed women and children to use toilets and washrooms of any hotel and restaurant in its southern localities for free from Monday. But will this be replicated by other cities? Donna Fernandes, one of the founders of Vimochana, a women's rights organisation, believes it could.  "It won't be long before such a move trickles down to the south and to Bengaluru," she says optimistically. Donna and her team have for years been reaching out to women in distress by offering them emotional and legal support, directly intervening when required, facilitating negotiated settlements and providing them shelter should they need it.  Well qualified to speak on the subject she interrupts her busy schedule at the Vimochana office to reflect on this new found sensitivity to the women in the capital.

 "I hope this move lasts. You never know when the hotels will change their minds and mould these rules to their own advantage," she adds worriedly.  Moving on to  Bengaluru, she points out it has, like other cities, been conceived and developed from the eyes of male planners, builders, policymakers. "The city has evolved, but it is gender blind and does not take into account the needs of the women," she notes. Excusing herself for a few minutes to guide her secretary on how a certain letter needs to be framed, she continues.

 "Thanks to some 20 or 30 years of women standing up and fighting for their rights  there has been a change. But no one on the whole thinks about women and their needs. While it's good that hotels and restaurants are allowing women and children to use their restroom for free, do you think they will allow construction workers or a woman who is of lower economic strata inside? Only a certain class will be allowed. So what the city and the state needs are more public toilets. And let me emphasise that they should be clean as that is the answer to the problem in the long run. Everyone should be allowed to use a clean and well-ventilated toilet."

And she sums up,  "Women need urinals as much as men do but sadly, there is not much for them, especially for those who travel a lot. Most of us are extremely hesitant to use public toilets and let's not go into why. But having said that, Delhi has taken a good initiative."