NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, September 30, 2019

By Emily Vaughn

Just because there’s a toilet built for women and girls, it doesn’t necessarily meet their needs.

A growing body of literature says public and school toilets in low- and middle-income countries all too often lack the basic elements women need for privacy and safety, and have design flaws that can leave users vulnerable to violent attacks.

The latest study, out this month in the Journal of Adolescence, looks at menstrual needs. Interviewing 312 girls in three provinces in Pakistan, the researchers found toilets showed “gender-insensitive design,” lacked disposal options for menstrual products and were unsafely located.

So what would a female-friendly toilet look like?

Photo courtesy of Shamsheer Yousaf.