Indian Women’s Fight for Toilets Continue in Courts

It was 8.30 am on a Friday morning, the last day of my second year law internship. I prepared my bag to leave for court, packing files, laptop, lunch, wallet, and a toilet seat sanitiser. During my commute, I came across an article by The Times of India, which read, “Registration of female candidates in CLAT [Common Law Admission Test] increases as more women get interested in legal profession.” I dig in to find that the enrollment of female candidates in CLAT has surged, highlighting a shift in preferences, with 57% of girls appearing in CLAT 2024. Although applaudable, I wonder if the courts are competent to accommodate such a shift?

Even after 75 years, Indian courts still lack adequate facilities and amenities for women. For female lawyers, washroom schedules are often dictated not as per biological need but rather according to inadequate toilet infrastructure. They routinely restrain their urge to relieve themselves and limit their liquid intake to minimise trips to inadequate or nonexistent facilities.

The issue was recently brought to the fore by the Nilgiris’ women lawyers association protest against the glaring lack of washroom facilities for women in the newly built Nilgiris district court complex, which led to the Supreme Court taking suo moto cognisance of the matter.

As per the National Judicial Data Grid, 19.7% of district courts do not have separate washrooms for women as of September 25, 2023, and the condition of the existing ones makes them unfit for use.

According to a survey conducted across 665 district court complexes across India by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, it was found that nearly 100 district courts lacked any washroom facilities for women, and even in 585 that had washrooms, more than half — that is, 60% — were not functional. These data paint a grim picture of the reality of court complexes. Despite repeated attempts by women across the country to seek accountability and safety from concerned authorities yet a crucial aspect remains overlooked.

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Functioning toilet facilities and safe restrooms are fundamental requirements for human dignity, yet Indian courts have consistently failed to address this critical issue. Imagine having to consider job opportunities based on the availability of a clean and functional washroom, a criterion that disproportionately affects women and often gets added to their checklist for a suitable job.

The available data underscores the alarming insensitivity towards women's health and sanitation, revealing the constitution's unfulfilled promise of equality and dignity, the legislature's inaction in enacting laws that ensure humane working conditions for women, and the state governments' neglect in developing adequate court infrastructure. It is an irony that those entrusted with the task of fighting for others’ rights are being made to fight for their own.

It is pertinent to understand that the times have changed and so should the court infrastructure. The planning and building of courts must take into account and serve the needs of all the people it cohabits, which includes women and other genders. On the surface, toilet facilities appear gender-neutral, but a more nuanced examination exposes significant gaps in design, accessibility, and usage, compromising their inclusivity for all genders.

Recently, the Chief Justice of India (CJI), D.Y. Chandrachud, at the inauguration of an arbitration centre said that it is our duty to create dignified conditions work for women, so they can flourish as members of the district judiciary, sharing his personal experience as a judge of the Bombay high court, where he was surprised on discovering that there was only one toilet for female judges in the Kolhapur court, and for using that as well, one would have to go past the corridor where all under-trials were sitting. This highlights that judicial officers, even at the top of the workforce hierarchy, are facing such unwelcoming and embarrassing experiences, and the legal system in its totality is failing to accommodate the needs of the participating women.

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The judiciary remains a low priority when it comes to funding. Consequently, the burden falls on women to protect and provide for themselves. The additional costs of seat sanitiser, portable jet sprays, paid toilets and hygiene related products coupled with the gender wage gap causes both financial and mental distress.

A holistic approach to court design in consonance with women-centric facilities and demands, proper allocation of funds, and an honest attempt to provide women with provisions for their differences instead of sweeping them under the rug and ensuring that the providers of justice do not become seekers of it is the need of the hour. The government’s initiative of making India Open Defecation Free (ODF) must comprehend that households are not the sole parameter of assessment. Women are no longer confined to the four walls of their homes. These schemes and subsidies should also be deployed to places of work and public institutions. Indian women must not be made to fight yet another battle for dignity and equality.

Aqsa Mullick is a young Muslim woman and a law student who is trying to make conversations that are important.

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