Adhyeta Mishra

Student Reporter

Sanviti Iyer

Editor

large_01-49-AM-Toiling_away_without_a_toilet_break.jpg

medium_01-49-AM-Toiling_away_without_a_toilet_break.jpg

small_01-49-AM-Toiling_away_without_a_toilet_break.jpg

thumbnail_01-49-AM-Toiling_away_without_a_toilet_break.jpg

01-49-AM-Toiling_away_without_a_toilet_break.jpg

“During emergencies, I relieve myself right here,” Diya Toppo (name changed) says, indicating a very small gap between the densely planted, thorny tea bushes. “I was stung by a bee just this morning; you could also get bitten by snakes here,” she adds worriedly.Regular working conditions for daily wage labourers is hard, but if you are a woman working in a tea garden, even taking a toilet break could be fraught with unknown dangers. The 53-year-old worker recalls, “When I was young, I would sometimes think of cycling back to the quarters to use the toilet in case of emergencies.” But that trip would reduce the time she spent plucking: “I need to meet the daily target [of leaves]. I can&#39;t risk [losing wages].” Her co-worker, Sunita Kisku (name changed) agrees: “There are only two options – either control [the urge to urinate] for the entire day or do it here [in the open]. But that is very dangerous given the amount of insects and leeches here.” Some tea companies do provide an umbrella, a chappal (sandal), a tripol (tarpaulin) and a jhuri (bag). “The tripol protects our clothes from getting wet from the water in the plants. Other things [equipment like boots] we have to buy ourselves,” says Diya. “We are expected to work 10 hours at a stretch,” says the 26-year-old Sunita. If she were to walk back home to access a toilet – two kilometres from the garden where she works – she would lose out on a few hours worth of wages. That is not something the mother of two says she can afford.

Diya and Sunita are among thousands of daily wage labourers working in an estate here in the dooars region of West Bengal, a majority of whom are women. Many women on the condition of anonymity, told PARI that accessing a toilet while working was impossible.And so when they can no longer bear the burning sensation while urinating, they go to Champa Dey (name changed), a senior ANM (auxiliary nurse midwife). That and blood in their urine, says Dey, point towards a urinary tract infection (UTI). “This happens because of inadequate consumption of water,” says the health worker who has been working with tea workers for 34 years now.  Although the tea companies do provide tanks with drinking water at some points around the gardens, “most of them [women labourers] don&#39;t use them to avoid urinating [in open spaces],” Champa adds. If toilets are far away, it also eats into the time they spend plucking and they lose out on wages. A worker needs to collect 20 kilos of leaves to receive the daily wage of Rs. 232. That works out to roughly 2 kilos of leaves per hour in the 10-hour work day if they work without a break.

“I have only managed to collect two 2 kilograms of pattas (leaves) in two hours because of the heat,” says Pushpa Lakra (name changed). The 26-year-old arrived at 7:30 a.m. and will leave at 5 p.m. just before the sun drops below this eastern corner of the country. This has been her routine for the last eight years. The bright green leaves she has plucked lie in a netted jhuri that is tied with her head. “Most days, especially during the summer and monsoon, it becomes difficult for us to reach the target and we lose Rs. 30 from our daily hajira (wage),” says Dipa Oraon (name changed), a tea worker for the last 5 years. The lack of access to toilets is a nightmare for menstruating women. “There are no provisions to change your sanitary pads,” says Mary Kisku (name changed), a 28-year-old worker. She has been working for the last 10 years. “Once I started bleeding while working in the gardens but couldn&#39;t go home because I had to finish the target. That day I returned home in blood-soaked clothes,” Mary recalls. Rani Horo is a local ASHA worker who is trying to create awareness among her patients about the importance of menstrual hygiene. “Unhygienic toilets, lack of regular water supply and the use of dirty rags during menstruation leads to a lot of health complications including severe risks during pregnancy,” says Rani, who has been working with the labourers for the last 10 years. Many of the women who work in tea gardens also suffer from low blood pressure which is an added complication, says Champa, adding, “Women who have tuberculosis and anaemia are at a higher risk while giving birth.”

Workers like Pushpa, Dipa and Sunita leave home at 6:30 a.m. after finishing their household chores. “In order to reach the gardens on time, many women skip their breakfast and start working right away,” says Ranjana Dutta (name changed), a community health worker. They don’t get a proper lunch break, and so don’t have time to eat a proper lunch. “This is why many female workers here have acute anaemia,” Ranjana adds. “We may apply for sick leave at the health centre [a facility in some gardens] but we lose a fourth of our wage then. We can&#39;t afford that,” Mary shares. Many of the labourers agree with her. Temporary workers don’t get paid at all if they miss a few hours. Many women who work at the plantation are also primary caregivers for their children. “I could not visit the garden today because I had to take my child to the hospital. I will be missing a quarter of today&#39;s wage,” says Pampa Oraon (name changed), a permanent worker. Many women like Mina Munda (name changed) have to bring their young children to work when they come as there is no one to leave them with. This affects their work. “I can&#39;t concentrate on the work much,” says Mina, who has two small children. For many women, the low wages are not sufficient to pay for their children’s education. “This is my first child. I don&#39;t know if we will be able to fund his education,” says Mompi Hansda, a 20-year-old labourer talking about her seven-month-old son.Many women in this story shared their experiences on the condition of anonymity.

Toiling away without a toilet break

خواتین مزدوروں کو رفع حاجت تک کی چھٹی نہیں

మలమూత్ర విసర్జనకు వెళ్ళే వీలు లేకుండా శ్రమిస్తోన్న మహిళా కార్మికులు

இயற்கை உபாதைக்கு இடைவேளை இல்லை

ਪੇਸ਼ਾਬ ਭਾਵੇਂ ਰੋਕ ਲਵੋ ਪਰ ਕੰਮ ਨਹੀਂ

ଏକ ଶୌଚାଳୟ ବିରତି ବିନା ପରିଶ୍ରମ କରିବା

ശൌചസൌകര്യങ്ങളില്ലാതെ അധ്വാനിക്കുമ്പോൾ

ಶೌಚಾಲಯಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಲೂ ವಿರಾಮವಿಲ್ಲದ ದುಡಿಮೆ

चाय बाग़ान की महिला श्रमिक: पेशाब रोको, काम करो

શૌચાલયના વિરામ વિના સતત પરિશ્રમ

चाय बगीचा मं पेशाब-पानी रोक के बूता के मजबूरी

चाय बागान मेहरारू मजूर: 10 घंटा ले पेसाब रोके के लाचारी

সেউজী পাতৰ আঁৰৰ আন্ধাৰ কাহিনী

হাড়ভাঙা খাটনি, অমিল শৌচের বিরতিটুকুও

Jalpaiguri

At present, we can only accept donations in Indian rupees by Indian citizens. All donations made to the CounterMedia Trust are eligible for exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Here is a copy of our exemption certificate.


India is bigger than New Delhi. And people need to know more about the rest of this vast nation.


Younger, media-saturated generations are growing up knowing little about their country, but a lot about the elites of a few metros and towns. For a narrowly-owned, commercially-driven media, the dumbing down of a nation is part of standard operating procedure. The last available data of the Centre for Media Studies (CMS, Delhi) show us that reports from New Delhi account for 66 per cent of news on the front pages of major dailies. The CMS data also found that just about 0.24 per cent of front page news came out of rural India. The TV channels are not much better.PARI exists to change that.We are a non-profit organisation. We publish under creative commons, and do not charge readers a subscription fee or put-up advertisements. Nothing is behind a paywall and we are completely free-to-access by anyone. We guard our independence and receive no direct grants from governments and corporations, nor any funding that could dictate our content. So, we are dependent on volunteer labour, donations from individuals, foundations and institutions that see value in independent and free media.PARI is changing the way Indian journalism reports and documents the rural.India is more than the elite of a few metros and towns. We report on rural lives and livelihoods, languages, communities, migrants and more. We need your help to pull off this most ambitious of Indian journalistic endeavours. The scale of this effort costs money. Donate generously - and spread the word about PARI.&nbsp;

Donate FAQs


Let’s get you acquainted

Welcome to PARI

All our content is, and will forever be free to consume. If you enjoy our work, you can support us by becoming a volunteer or by donating to help fund our work.

Want to republish this article? Please write to <a href="mailto:zahra@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">zahra@ruralindiaonline.org</a> with a cc to <a href="mailto:namita@ruralindiaonline.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">namita@ruralindiaonline.org</a>

Toiling away without a toilet break

The most basic needs of accessing a toilet during working hours is a daily challenge and a health hazard for many women labourers in tea gardens in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal

Related stories

A rain-scented walk in Sivagangai

Living on ravaged land

Biswas and the bamboos on his bike

Recycling energy, Godda style

Bhadels of Goa

Pookadai: still throbbing with morning life

Koli Kadlas

Malnourishment high among children of migrants: study

Wheels of the rural Indian West

Living Under a Red Cloud in Bellary

Vedla – earrings of the Maher community

Dreaming of water, drowning in debt

Kali: the dancer and his dreams

Farmer's diet worse than a convict's

In Yavatmal, life goes on

Suicides are about the living, not the dead

Death of a carpenter

Hoisa Shigmo!

Women farmers: weaving a life in Anantapur

Defiant in Dhinkia

Spice and all that's nice

Kerala's Green Army

The ‘jugaad’ not-a-mobile

Health as someone else's wealth

Calibrating in a Kudumbashree assembly unit