Shreya stands outside a small, dimly lit toilet block on a university campus in Dhaka, waiting. The door does not lock properly. The floor is still wet from the last user. She has already limited her water intake for the day. She carefully calculates how to avoid using a washroom she knows will be uncomfortable and unsafe. What should be a simple human experience has turned into a daily negotiation that shapes her routine, movements, and sense of security.
This is not just a minor inconvenience. It is a silent crisis that women across Dhaka—and much of the world—face every day. Sanitation is not just about having a toilet. It is about privacy, safety, dignity, and the ability to live without always being on guard. A washroom without water, a working lock, or disposal facilities, or one located in a dark area becomes a daily threat rather than a basic service.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.5 billion people globally still lack basic sanitation services. Millions of women and girls rely on shared or unsafe facilities that expose them to harassment, discomfort, and health risks. In such places, a toilet may exist yet remain practically inaccessible.
A City of Ambition, not Safe Sanitation: Dhaka, one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities, often focuses on infrastructure, urban growth, and ambition. Yet sanitation, one of the city’s most basic urban services, remains surprisingly fragile for women.
On university campuses, in government buildings, at court premises, in bus terminals, and even in shopping areas, women often make the same calculation: how little water can she drink to avoid needing the toilet? This everyday decision, seemingly trivial, leads to serious consequences—urinary tract infections, dehydration, fatigue, and long-term reproductive health issues.
At the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s leading public institution, many female students describe washrooms that lack soap, functional flushes, privacy, or cleanliness. After academic buildings close for the evening, the only facility available is the restrooms at the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC)—a place many women actively avoid due to crowding, broken doors, and poor upkeep. As a result, young women spend entire days navigating the campus with discomfort as their constant companion.
Dhaka’s courts, which are vital to the country’s justice system, tell an even more troubling story. In several district court locations, separate toilets for women either do not exist or exist only in name. A sign banning men from entering women’s toilets remains just a symbol when men casually stand inside these supposedly restricted areas. The lack of privacy and the presence of male strangers create a threatening environment for female lawyers and justice seekers—many of whom avoid drinking water to skip entering these spaces altogether. These stories from Dhaka reveal a deeper truth: sanitation is not just a public health issue; it is a gendered urban crisis.
A Universal Challenge with Gendered Consequences:
The struggles of women in Dhaka mirror those in cities across the Global South. Studies by UN Women show that poorly lit, poorly located, or poorly maintained sanitation facilities raise the risk of sexual harassment and assault. This pushes women into patterns of avoidance. In countries from India to Kenya, women report waiting until dawn to relieve themselves or walking long distances to find the nearest functioning toilet—risks that men rarely face.
Menstrual hygiene adds further challenges. Globally, less than one-third of schools provide disposal bins in girls’ toilets. In workplaces, markets, and bus terminals, menstruation becomes a hidden struggle when washrooms lack water, privacy, and waste management. These shortcomings lead to absenteeism, lower productivity, and social stigma.
Sanitation is thus not just about infrastructure. It affects women’s freedom. When toilets are unsafe, inaccessible, or unhygienic, women’s ability to study, work, and participate in society is quietly but consistently undermined.
In a city of more than twenty million people, it should not be difficult to find a clean, safe toilet. Yet in Dhaka, one of the world’s fastest-growing megacities, this basic necessity remains an everyday gamble—particularly in the city’s busiest markets and shopping districts where millions of women, workers, students, vendors, and commuters pass through daily. The result is a silent urban crisis: a sanitation landscape that is fragmented, inadequate, and deeply unequal.
While Dhaka boasts an impressive array of malls—from Basundhara City to Jamuna Future Park—most urban residents still shop in traditional markets: New Market, Chandni Chowk, Nilkhet, Farmgate, Kawran Bazar, Hatirpool, Gausia, Mohammadpur Krishi Market, and countless neighborhood bazaars. These are the spaces where the sanitation system most visibly collapses.
The Toilet That Exists Only in Theory: Reports from WaterAid and Dhaka’s city corporations show that shopping malls generally have toilets, though their cleanliness and maintenance vary widely. Traditional markets, on the other hand, are far more inconsistent. Some markets have toilets that operate only during business hours, many remain locked, and some exist merely on paper.
A 2023 WaterAid sanitation assessment found that public toilets in Dhaka’s markets often lack soap, working taps, and functional locks, while cleaning is irregular at best. The result is predictable: women avoid using them entirely.
At New Market, one of the city’s most popular shopping hubs, the sole public toilet is frequently cited for overcrowding and poor hygiene. The queues are long, maintenance is insufficient, and many women prefer to “hold it in” rather than step inside.
In Farmgate, a crowded commercial corridor, the public toilet under the old Ananda Cinema remains one of the few accessible facilities. Yet its condition fluctuates depending on the day, the cleaner, and sheer foot traffic.
Even in Kawran Bazar, a major wholesale and business zone, toilet facilities exist but are far from meeting the needs of the thousands who work there, including women vendors and customers. Cleanliness is inconsistent, and privacy is often compromised.
Dhaka Tribune has repeatedly reported that public toilets in busy markets are locked, broken, or filthy, making them unusable for most people, especially women and children.
A Tale of Two Dhakas: Malls vs. Markets
Large malls like Bashundhara City, Jamuna Future Park, Shimanto Square, Police Plaza, and Eastern Mall generally maintain relatively clean and spacious toilets, often with security and cleaning staff. These spaces serve middle and upper-middle-class shoppers, and it shows. Markets, however, are a different world. The sanitation inequality is sharp and visible.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has mandated that every mall must provide well-equipped, gender-friendly toilets, and this requirement is largely followed in high-end establishments. But informal markets, street bazaars, and older shopping centers fall into regulatory blind spots. Their toilets, if they exist, are usually managed by market committees without strict oversight.
Dhaka Cannot Be a Global City Without Safe Sanitation: No city can claim modernity, let alone gender equality, if half of its population must plan their day around limited facilities or sacrifice their basic dignity. Dhaka’s aspirations as a global city must include ensuring safe sanitation, especially for women.
A working sanitation system must include: (a) clean, well-lit, private washrooms with functioning locks; (b) reliable water and soap, Accessible menstrual hygiene facilities, including disposal bins’ (c) Regular, accountable cleaning services; (d) Separate and secure facilities for women, especially in courts, campuses, and public service buildings; (e) Safe designs, including lighting, visibility, and proximity; (f) Monitoring and public reporting mechanisms, not just symbolic compliance. Good sanitation is not about merely ticking construction boxes; it is about whether a woman can use a toilet without fear.
When Sanitation Fails Women, Society Fails Them Too: Women should not have to plan their day around the nearest usable washroom. They should not have to risk harassment to relieve themselves. They should not have to compromise their health, comfort, or dignity because safe sanitation is deemed less important than other infrastructure.
Dhaka’s future—and Bangladesh’s broader development goals—require recognising that toilets are not just technical add-ons. They are essential for achieving equality. Real progress will not be measured by the number of toilets built but by whether women across the city—students, lawyers, garment workers, mothers, travelers—can go about their day with confidence instead of caution.
A toilet, when dignified, private, and safe, opens the door to participation, opportunity, and justice. When it fails, it becomes a barrier to all three.
Dhaka aspires to be a modern megacity. But a city cannot be modern if its citizens must search for a toilet or avoid water all day because the nearest market facility is too dirty, unsafe, or simply locked. Sanitation is not a luxury. It is not even just a health issue. It is about equity, dignity, access, and the right to the city. Until Dhaka’s markets provide safe, clean, well-maintained toilets for all, especially for women, the city’s development will remain incomplete.
The writer is a development practitioner
samantaislamsayma6@gmail.com