'Denied permission to use washroom at theatre,' says menstruating woman

The cinema hall manager said it was a 'misunderstanding'.

A woman on her periods alleged that she was denied permissions from entering a cinema hall in Kolkata because she would "soil" the floor. The allegations were made against a prominent cinema hall in the Hatibagan area in north Kolkata, a Times of India report read.

The cinema hall manager was asked to come down to the police station after the woman's husband shared her ordeal on social media and approached the police. The woman received major support on social media.

The woman and her husband had gone to the cinema hall to watch a movie. According to the police, the woman went to use the washroom after the show got over, but a few housekeeping staffers were cleaning the facility. Police said they refused her entry to the bathroom. While the staffers said the woman tried to use the entry gate to come out of the hall, they requested her to use the exit gate instead. "The woman then told them that she was on her period. It was then that one of the housekeeping staffers stopped her from using the washroom and suggested that she use a toilet outside the theatre," a police officer was quoted as saying in the report.

The couple said people passed snide remarks as there was an argument and the shocked couple left the hall in "severe trauma" and approached the police. The manager claimed there was a "misunderstanding". "No theatre in Kolkata has ever asked women if they are menstruating or not. They have used the toilets without ever having to disclose this information. The same rule applies in my theatre as well," the management was quoted as saying.

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