Washroom Wars: A Tale of Two Toilets

Today was my first day back at school, and I have to say, the washrooms are still a disaster. I mean, we pay thousands of rupees in fees, but our washrooms are like a bad joke. Have you seen the state of our girls' washrooms? It's like they're trying to make us cry... or maybe that's just the smell talking.

So, our girls' washrooms have these pathetic doors. The locks don't work, and you can't even close the door properly. It's like a game of chance. Will you get the one with the broken lock? Will you get the one with the door that's stuck? Honestly, what is the school staff even thinking? “Hey, let's just leave it broken and hope no one peeks in!” Like, who thought this was a good idea? "Let's not fix the doors, let's just hope the girls can figure it out!"

And then there's the water situation. It's like a mythical creature – we've heard of it, but we've never seen it. Is water in the washroom? No, it's a legend! What's even  the point of having a washroom without water? It's like having a school without qualified teachers – pointless! 

And don't even get me started on hand-drying. Because, on the rare occasion when there is water, we wash our hands, and then... no way to dry them. No towels, no tissues, no dryers. I can’t just go to class with dripping hands, and soak my notebook (which I’ll get scolded on). Seriously, we're not made of water-resistant material (in fact, we’re made of seventy percent water).

But you know what the real kicker is? The teachers' washroom. Oh, it's like a whole different world there. I had to use it today because, well, our washrooms were having a water drought. And, when I told the janitor, she was like, “Okay, I'll get it turned on.” No urgency! Just a casual: “Yeah, I'll turn it on eventually after I finish serving tea to all eighty teachers.” Anyway, I went to the staff washroom, and... wow. It had a wooden door with a proper lock, plants for decoration, water at the perfect temperature, even a hand-dryer (that actually worked and wasn’t a show-piece). I felt like I was in a luxury hotel!

But the most outrageous part, I got scolded by a teacher for using the teachers' washroom! She was like, “We teachers don't use your girls' washroom, why do you use ours?” And I'm thinking: girl, you wouldn't use our washrooms even if you were getting paid to do it; keep that invalid argument tucked away.

So, dear school administration, if you're reading this, here's a message: fix our washrooms, or I'll keep calling you out. Jokes aside though, we deserve better. We're paying for it, after all. Let's make our washrooms as nice as the teachers' ones. Equality?

– Hoor, Senior Advocate for Bathroom Rights.