Aswini Ashok

Long ago, a "learned" man arguing against women entering Sabarimala asked the most illogical question, if women would enter men's bathroom too? I casually thought, women will, if they HAVE TO. Fast forward to a few years later, I have found myself in a similar situation, not once, but god knows how many times, thanks to my field role in construction that makes me walk into men's restrooms (of course not with men) more times than I could recollect. It is no mystery that project sites in India do not have many women employees to begin with. Yet they all have at least one women's restroom, even if not maintained properly. And it is usually locked since it is seldom used, and to avoid miscreants using it. There is a job site I occasionally visit where I have to collect the bathroom keys from a lone female employee there. To my dismay, she resigned a couple of months later, and I had to request the keys from the HR. He would usually hand it over and tell me to drop it ...