Shiv Sena promised a slew of women-centric schemes ahead of 2012 BMC polls, but many haven’t been delivered on
Even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to construct dedicated toilets for women, the Shiv Sena’s manifesto for the civic elections next month promises sanitary napkin vending machines at public toilets. While the Shiv Sena had promised a slew of women-centric schemes ahead of the 2012 BMC polls, most of these promises were not delivered over the next five years.
Prior to the 2012 civic elections, Shiv Sena had announced various schemes for women, such as a health scheme for adolescent girls and supplying folic acid and iron tablets to anemic girls below poverty line. Other schemes included involving women self-help groups and non-governmental organisations run by women and creating a chain of supply of household items needed by women. A comprehensive health scheme for women was aimed at controlling diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, gynecological problems, breast and cervical cancer.
However, most of these projects remained only on paper. Prominent female corporators from the Shiv Sena had also asked the civic administration to give contracts for managing the city’s parking lots to women self-help groups. However, no decision has been taken as yet. Though BMC has planned night shelters for women, they haven’t been started yet.
While toilets for women are the need of the hour, the civic administration is yet to start construction of the same. Providing sanitary napkin vending machines has been a project that the civic administration has been talking about for the past two years. Last year, the civic body had decided to install such machines in civic schools. However, the machines are yet to be installed in all the schools.
Supriya Sonar from the `Right to Pee campaign’, that pushes for public toilets for women, says that when any political party makes announcements, they should also reveal how they will go about it and the budgetary allocation for the project.
“This issue is very sensitive and it needs urgent attention. Sanitary napkin vending machine project has already been rolled out and even tenders are out for nearly 700 such vending machines, so this is not new. I feel the access and availability of clean and safe toilets for women is the need of the time, when more number of women are part of the workforce. Availability of sanitary napkins is also welcome, but what if there are no dedicated toilets which are clean and usable. BMC claimed that the city is free of open defecation, but all of us know that it is not true,” Sonar said.
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