Mumbai Central Ladies Toilet

Working Towards a Better Tomorrow

This project is at its heart about a Woman’s Dignity.  The toilet is designed by Architect Tanya Sinh for Mumbai’s busiest railway station, Mumbai Central Station.  It is in dedication of every Indian Woman and in support of the Government’s sanitation drive in India.

Mumbai, with a population of 22 million, has a clear lack of public toilets. The current municipality estimates are at about 1 toilet public toilet per 2000 people, of which two thirds are only for men and many are not operational and in poor condition. This makes the availability of public toilets for women close to non-existant

For this project we partnered together with empowering yoga group from Norway called Back in the Ring, and JSW Foundation. The Back in the Ring project is initiated and led by one of the World’s most renowned Ashtanga Yoga teachers, Alexander Medin. PRACTISING THE PRINCIPALS OF KARMA YOGA, the BITR team not only sponsored a large part of the project, but travelled to India with Alexander and his team to build the toilet facility with their own hands. 

The finished toilet consists of addressed the specific needs for feminine hygiene, offering child stations for mothers, changing rooms for commuting professionals and clean and safe toilets for the city’s women. The materials are easily maintainable and locally procured. While safety is the cornerstone, the design embodied sophistication and a modern edge. We believe we have created a scalable template to overcome the toilet insecurity women face every day.