I am a menstruating student, currently studying at Jadavpur University. I still remember the day I got accepted; it was a dream come true to be a part of one of the most eminent institutions in the country. The first few days in college felt incredible: it is a pretty huge campus, airy and beautiful, with greenery all around. This reverie of mine was, however, very short-lived; and it ended the day I stepped inside one of the campus washrooms for the first time.
The washrooms were something out of a horror story, and I am not even exaggerating.
The first thing that hits you when you enter a campus washroom is the stench, which is revolting enough to make you feel nauseous. A few of the doors of the stalls were broken, and the locks were missing. I tried to hold my breath and go about my business, but when I entered one of the stalls, I realized that I had started chumming. My periods were early, and I was not carrying a menstrual cup that day. Due to skin problems, I refrain from using disposable sanitary pads, but I had no choice. I tried to flush the toilet, but it seemed as if the cisterns were dysfunctional. By then, I was starting to panic, and I walked outside with my bloodied underwear, looking for a pad.
The only pharmacy situated on campus was a 15-minute walk away from my department. I started walking towards it, fearful of the fact that my white pants could get stained at any moment. When I reached the shop, I was informed that they only had a large-sized packet of a brand that I had never used or even heard of. I rushed into a nearby building, hoping that the toilets would be better than the previous one. To my utter disappointment, they were not. The taps were not working, and there was no clean, running water to wash my hands with. Somehow I managed to clean off the mess with disposable wet tissues (which I carry in my bag) but felt too sick to carry on with my classes.
Ever since that incident, I have avoided going to college on my heavy-flow days. I miss important classes that way, but I would rather have it that way than visit the toilets. The disgusting conditions of the washrooms in almost every single department makes it really hard for menstruating students to change their sanitary products (be it pads or menstrual cups). The cubicles lack trash-cans where one can throw their used sanitary pads, and most of the time, the commodes are blocked or overflowing with excreta and dirty pads.
On normal days when I’m not menstruating, I visit a nearby mall whenever I need to use the loo. It costs Rs. 50 every trip, and I am one of the privileged ones who can afford to spend that kind of money in order to maintain personal hygiene. A lot of students from lower-income backgrounds and even those who stay in the hostels have no choice but to sacrifice their hygiene by using the washrooms on campus.
It is not just Jadavpur University; a lot of educational institutions have a recurring problem of unsafe, unhygienic, and dysfunctional washrooms. Many students have confessed that they are forced to skip college on period days, and some regularly contract diseases like urinary tract infections (UTIs) and fungal infections due to unclean washrooms. It has been six years since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission which aimed to improve sanitary conditions for women, especially in the rural areas; yet, bleeding with dignity is still not possible for millions of menstruators. Why is access to basic sanitary amenities and running water still considered a privilege, rather than the norm?
Being deprived of as basic a human right as access to sanitation fuelled me to start my campaign, called The Bleed Eco Project in association with the Youth Ki Awaaz Action Network on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM). It aims to transform the washrooms on campus and make them period-friendly, hygienic, and accessible. Our demand is addressed to Prof. Suranjan Das, the Vice-Chancellor to take action on the atrocious conditions of washrooms in educational institutions which have proved to be a menace for menstruating students.
You can help my campaign grow and spread the word by signing our petition addressed to the Vice-Chancellors of several prominent universities in West Bengal. One signature from you can help us go a long way in achieving our goal to make washrooms in educational institutions period-friendly, hygienic, and accessible to all.