New Delhi: In what could be termed as an inclusive move, a public toilet for the transgender community has been opened in the Goregaon area of Mumbai.
The special public toilet in the Aarey area of Goregaon is first of its kind and has been constructed by an NGO called the Saarthi Foundation, which works to give a better life to the underprivileged sections of the society. It also focuses on providing healthcare facility to the needy.
The move is aimed at providing safe space to transgenders and prevent discrimination against them.
After the toilet was made operational, a transgender spoke to news agency ANI and expressed great happiness, and urged the government and NGOs to build more such facilities to help the community.
"A public toilet designed for the transgender community has come up in the Goregaon area. We request the government to construct more toilets like this one in other areas of the city, said Manju to ANI.
The provisions of section 22 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, mandates adequate welfare measures for transgenders, which include public toilet facilities, right to education, voting and Aadhar card.
Many companies today are trying to introduce the concept of gender-neutral washrooms, but making it public still remains a challenge.