{"id":7027,"date":"2016-07-18T13:51:11","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T08:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7027"},"modified":"2016-07-18T13:51:11","modified_gmt":"2016-07-18T08:21:11","slug":"period-room-in-public-toilets-maharashtra-gender-sensitive-menstrutation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=7027","title":{"rendered":"\u201cPeriod Room\u201d in Public Toilets: Maharashtra Leads the Way in Gender-Sensitive Public Facilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\nA<\/span>n unassuming Maharashtra slum has become the subject<\/a> of media chatter ever since it got a \u201cPeriod Room\u201d. Installed jointly by Muse Foundation and Thane Municipal Corporation, Lokmanya Nagar\u2019s Period Room is a public toilet that specifically caters to individuals who are menstruating. This first-of-its-kind loo is not only a much-needed health amenity but also a wonderful stigma-battling initiative.\n\nThe Indian Express<\/em> explains<\/a> that the Period Room includes \u201ca urinal, a jet spray, a toilet roll-holder, soap, running water, hooks to hang clothes and a dustbin to dispose of menstrual waste \u2014 rare amenities in public toilets.\u201d The facility is also low-cost at \u20b945,000 and will be built<\/a> in 120 public toilets in the city. For 67 per cent of women in 15 Thane slum areas who don\u2019t have access<\/a> to clean bathrooms, running water, or garbage disposals, the Period Room will be a huge source of relief.\n\nHowever, menstruation-related woes are not exclusive to Maharashtra. In states like Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, girls are forced into isolation in tiny, window-less \u201cperiod huts\u201d where they must stay while menstruating every month despite being vulnerable<\/a> to snake bites, pneumonia, and other illnesses. Girls, women, and other menstruating genders across the country are barred<\/a> from cooking food, entering temples or kitchens, touching holy books, and eating certain foods while on their period over deep-seated myths of menstruation making a woman polluted and impure. Even Indian advertisements for sanitary napkins euphemistically show period blood as an amorphous blue liquid and market menstrual products as means to keep clothes \u201cclean\u201d and stain-free.\n\nTo make matters worse, despite the fact that periods (associated stigma, poor sanitation, and lack of access to health products) are cited<\/a> as one of the top reasons for Indian girls dropping out of schools, the government has not made scientific sex education mandatory. The Period Room is therefore an example of the kind of public policies India needs to combat the stigma against menstruation.\n\n

Having a unit of public space dedicated to menstruation is empowering for women, non-binary, and transgender individuals.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nThane\u2019s Period Room also sits alongside nine other ordinary toilets in the women\u2019s section of a public restroom housed in a building that adorns a beautiful mural<\/a>. A slogan on the mural reads \u201cMenstrual cycle is a natural process. Tyabaddal lajjaspad ase kahihi nahi<\/em> (There is nothing shameful about it).\u201d The conspicuous, almost celebratory design of public space dedicated to menstruation is an important aspect of the project. The building\u2019s colourful wall invites the gaze of passersby who end up acknowledging that menstruation is a natural, biological concept \u2013 one so normal that you could encounter it on your evening walk around the neighbourhood.\n\nThe Period Room targets people who need it the most: slum dwellers. The women of Lokmanya Nagar now have a private area to change their clothes and use menstrual products without being conscious of onlookers in packed shanties. Having a unit of public space dedicated to menstruation is empowering for women, non-binary, and transgender individuals whose needs and struggles are otherwise relegated to low-priority, ignored, or rendered invisible.\n\nWhile it may take time for menstruating individuals in and around Lokmanya Nagar to regularly use the Period Room, Muse Foundation and Thane Municipal Corporation show how women\u2019s health can and should be at the forefront of development in India.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Period Room, a public toilet in Thane, Maharashtra, targets people who need it the most: slum dwellers. Having a unit of public space dedicated to menstruation is empowering for women whose needs and struggles are otherwise relegated to low-priority, ignored, or rendered invisible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":7028,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[4145,4147,11009,11010,3685],"class_list":["post-7027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gender","tag-menstrual-hygiene","tag-menstruation","tag-period-blood","tag-period-room","tag-women-empowerment"],"yoast_head":"\n\u201cPeriod Room\u201d in Public Toilets: Maharashtra Leads the Way in Gender-Sensitive Public Facilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Period Room, a public toilet in Thane, Maharashtra, targets people who need it the most: slum dwellers. 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