Project Kathan

A, Delhi

(Phone conversation, November 2024)

I worked in film, so we had to travel long distances for the shoots. That involved trekking up to the mountains and hills in Uttarakhand. There were, of course, no public toilets. You’d think it’s easier out there in the bushes, but it’s really risky.. There were poisonous bushes that caused severe pain and burns if we actually touched them. The bushes have hurt us before. In some cases, it can even become life-threatening by swelling up the throat and chest. We had to use Google Lens to identify the bushes and see if it’s safe to urinate near them. Sometimes the network won’t connect in these places. So, it was very risky. Sometimes, the men in our group would stand together to make a sort of shield, so that I could pee. This was when the surroundings were uncomfortable. This doesn’t happen always – it depends on the crew. These guys were pals. Not everyone does that.

I suffer from IBS. So, the lack of clean toilets can directly affect my health. Even though there are pee funnels that we can buy, those are expensive. And handling it- the logistics- is also a problem.

Building public toilets is not always a solution in these areas. Who will maintain it? Instead, I feel that the sight of a woman relieving herself shouldn’t be so alien. Even if her body is a little revealed in the process, people should learn not to care! It’s just a natural process that men here do even in public! Is our society so depraved that a woman has to struggle and always be scared to urinate, even in isolated areas such as this?! How difficult is it to normalise not staring at a woman’s body!?