User:Pratiksha madhuparee/Right to pee campaign

Right to pee is campaign started in 2011 in Mumbai, India. The campaign was started by Mumtaz Sheikh and later joined by other 35 NGO's, for demands of free, separate, clean and safe public urinals for women in Mumbai. The campaign started due to lack of public toilets and urinals. And also the existing toilets and urinals were not clean, accessible and safe. Mumtaz Sheikh also designed toilet structure for women and did exhibition of it. The campaign was successful in developing 96 public toilets in Mumbai till 2015.

Context
For women, who travels every day, its very inconvenient to go for nature's call due to unavailability of public toilets for women. available toilets also was not clean and safe. women urinals were paid as 1 rs per pee while men's urinals were free. Mumtaz found it discriminating and unjust. She went to officials in demands of making women urinals free and increase the number. officials denied it and then she started campaign. she said to official that if they don't makes urinals free for women, women will pee in front of their offices. Then urinals made free. Moment went further with the demands of more urinals and toilets for women ans also they should clean, safe and accessible. Further other 35 NGO's joined the campaign.

According to 2011 census of India, female population of Mumbai was 54,13,12,77 which is half of the total population of the city. And availability of toilets for them was less than one third of total. There are 4500 public toilets in the city of which 65 to 70 % are for men. This shortage of toilets also lead to health problems in women as well as safety issues. Unavailability of public toilets for women shows disrespect towards them.

There is a completely unembarrassed air about this disparity. for instance, a notice at the Bandra suburban railwat station reads: 'men's toilets :2, women's toilets: 2, men's urinals 24.' these figures seem all the more lopsided and insensitive when we consider the fact that women need more time than men to urinate, and need to use toilets more often. To actually provide equally for women and men, we would need at least twice as many toilets for women as for men.

Events
35 NGO's ( non government organisations) had participated in right to pee campaign. some of them are VACHA, Apnalaya etc.

Achievements
On 19 December 2014 the Bombay High Court directed all municipal corporation in Maharashtra to make a strategy to construct toilets for women near main roads. Following this, the court set a deadline of March 31, 2015 and the municipal corporations were asked to finish the works before that.

Awards

 * 1) Mumtaz Sheikh was awarded with daughter of Maharashtra award by Maharashtra.
 * 2) Mumtaz Sheikh has been listed amongst BBC's 100 most inspirational women of 2015..
 * 3) Mumtaz sheikh also selected by international organisation, Leader Quest, for her advocacy of women's right.
 * 4) Mumtaz sheikh got Kusum award, instituted by the Antarbharati Shikshan Mandal and the family of freedom fighter Chandrakant Patgaonkar in 2016.