“For modesty’s sake, the fields can only be used in the dark: before sunrise or after sunset,” Mumtaz Sheikh, another active campaigner in the Right To Pee movement, explained. “A lone woman in the dark field is an easy target for rape. And such cases of rape are common.”

In a short time, the Right To Pee movement has gained recognition in India, as well as the rest of the world. Campaigners have successfully influenced India's government to create an unprecedented budget for the construction and maintenance of public toilets for women. The campaign has also raised awareness about the adverse health and sociopolitical effects that the lack of sanitation can have.

Supported by 33 nonprofit organizations, the campaign came together under the banner of Coro India, an organization that develops community-based approaches to improve the lives of the marginalized and oppressed. Local women have also played a major role in making the campaign a success.

For Sheikh, her activism began 15 years ago, when she noticed that an outsider was conducting a survey in Chembur Trombay, the basti she lives in. She learned that the outsider belonged to Coro India.

“I thought to myself: This basti is mine, its problems are mine and the solutions affect me,” said Sheikh. “Then how can someone from the outside conduct a better analysis than me?”

So she decided to get involved. Sheikh, now 34, has since become a Coro member, working on all kinds of social issues in the basti, including rape and domestic violence.