No Public Toilet at Bandarban's Marma Bazar, Women Forced to Use the Banks of the Sangu River

Women who come to trade at the Marma Bazar in Madhyampara in Bandarban town face hardship every day because the market has no public toilet. Women who sell hill farm produce, small traders at the market and ordinary buyers spend a large part of the day there, yet the market does not have even the minimum facility to meet a basic need.

Sumita Tanchangya, 65, left home at five in the morning. She came to the Marma Bazar in Madhyampara, Bandarban town, with hill-grown bottle gourd, yardlong beans, lemons and other farm produce. Her household runs on selling those products, and she has to wait at the market for a long time for buyers.

At one point, when she needed to urinate, Sumita was in trouble because there is no public toilet at the market. There was nowhere nearby to go either. In the end she was forced to go to the banks of the Sangu River to relieve herself.

There is no relief on the river bank either, she said. Many people bathe there every day, and some use the river water for daily needs. Having to relieve herself in their presence puts Sumita in an embarrassing situation.

Sumita said, “I came very early from the Chimbuk area. When the pressure came, I searched here and there, but I found no toilet anywhere. I was forced to do what I needed in a secluded place on the banks of the Sangu River beside the market.” She said many hill women like her come to the weekly market to sell bananas, sweet pumpkin and various farm produce.

A big weekly market sits at this locally important bazar every Sunday and Wednesday. On those days hill women from nearby and distant places bring bananas, vegetables, sweet pumpkin, fruits and other farm produce to sell. Trading runs from morning to night. Women face the same problem on ordinary days as well, not only on weekly market days.

The situation is harder especially for teenage girls, elderly women and women who are physically ill. Despite the need, many have to hold it in for a long time, and some are forced to go in an open place. Some manage at a familiar hotel or home, but those with no acquaintance nearby fall into an embarrassing situation.

Buyer Nungme Marma said, “This Marma Bazar is not only a place of buying and selling, it is also an important centre of livelihood for many people from nearby hill settlements. Many women set out from home at dawn with farm produce from remote areas. A large part of their day is spent at the market. Yet the market does not have even the minimum facility to meet a basic need.” Nungme Marma, a resident of Ujanipara in Bandarban town, said the same.

Nungmeching Marma, a temporary small trader at Marma Bazar, said, “On weekly market days a huge number of people gather from far away. Those who have acquaintances go to their homes. Those who have no one they know try to use the toilets of different hotels. But many cannot arrange a toilet when they need one and are forced to go to the banks of the Sangu River.”

Puti Tanchangya, another temporary small trader who comes from Kanapara, said, “On weekly market days we have to come to the market at three or four in the morning. At that hour it is not possible to go to a relative's house either. Then we are forced to go to a secluded place on the banks of the Sangu River.” Another small trader, Mepruching Marma, said she goes to a familiar hotel when she needs to, but at times faces bad behaviour from the hotel manager.

Touhidul Anwar, a doctor at Bandarban Sadar Hospital, said, “Women in the hill region are already behind in many ways. On top of that, the lack of necessary sanitation facilities raises their health risk further. The rate of urinary infection among women in the hill region is higher than in other districts. Holding urine for a long time or a long obstruction to urine flow can cause urinary infection and various health complications. It can even cause major damage to the kidneys.”

Human rights worker Donai Pru Neli said, “The lack of a public toilet is not only a matter of discomfort or an embarrassing situation, it is also linked to women's health, personal privacy and the right to use public space safely.” She also said that although women's participation in local markets is increasing, building infrastructure according to their needs remains neglected. Adequate toilets at markets, safe water and separate, usable sanitation facilities for women must be ensured, she said.

Bandarban Municipality administrator S M Manjurul Haq said, “A municipal team will inspect Marma Bazar on the spot on this matter. Necessary measures will be taken after the inspection.” He also said there was a public toilet at Marma Bazar before, but it became defunct long ago. If anyone at the market can give land to build a toilet, a high-quality public toilet will be built there. Otherwise, the defunct toilet will be renovated and made usable again, he said.