Women appeal for more public toilets
Source: Xinhua |
October 17, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A SIGN at a KFC restaurant lavatory in east China's Zhejiang Province has been put up telling female customers not to use the male restroom.
Located in a shopping mall in downtown Ningbo City, the placard reads, "For the convenience of our male customers, ladies please don't use the men's room."
KFC staff explained that female customers were using the men's room because they could not find enough toilets elsewhere. This prompted complaints from men who felt embarrassed seeing women in their restroom.
However, some Internet users have vented their frustration, arguing that women have no choice but to use male restrooms.
"Has the restaurant ever thought about the female customers? They'll only do this if it's an emergency," a posting said.
"But it's normal. I often think about using the men's room when I have been standing in a long queue for the women's lavatory while the men's is empty," a Weibo user, "Miss Toothpaste," said.
Similar predicaments appear in cities across China.
In Beijing, female citizens and tourists complain about waiting in queues outside public toilets.
"I'd like to let my wife use the men's room rather than waiting outside the women's for almost half an hour in the park during a weekend," said a Beijing native surnamed Wang.
In the latest effort to solve the toilet woes, the Beijing Commission of Urban Management and Environment may increase the number of public toilets for women. The new standard will make the ratio of female to male public toilets 1.5 or two to one.
Beijing has more than 12,000 public latrines, most of them located along main roads, squares, residential communities, parks, tourist attractions and markets in the urban areas.
But the number is obviously not enough for women, as long queues are often seen outside the public latrines.
The scarcity of public toilets has prompted many to use washrooms at KFC and McDonald's, as they have branches throughout cities and are regularly serviced and cleaned.
Beijing will build more than 2,000 public toilets by 2015, and some old ones will be renovated, said Cui Xuan, deputy director of the sanitation bureau of the commission.
Eight-minute walk
Cui said each of the newly built toilets will be around 300,000 yuan (US$47,870), and 100,000 yuan for a renovated one. He added that people will be able to find a public toilet within an eight-minute walk. In addition, visitors will be able to use a text messaging service to find public toilets around Beijing's tourist attractions, Cui said.
Guangzhou has a 12 million population but only 907 public toilets in its downtown, officials said. To address this imbalance, more than 5,000 toilets throughout 195 communities will be constructed or renovated.
In February, female undergraduates in Guangzhou City began a movement to "occupy men's rooms." In August, college student Huang Huanting and 14 friends staged a performance at the gate of the city's administration committee with a self-made toilet. She appealed for fair use of public latrines and more toilets for women.
Latrines are also being built in the cities of Shanghai, Shenyang, Zhuhai and Hong Kong.
There should be unisex toilets in places where there are large numbers of people, which could ease the long queues and increase the usage rate, said a Weibo user identified as "Stanley Xiao."
"It's more humane to build more toilets, especially for females. For Beijing to become a global city, such fundamental facilities should be constructed first," said Wang Yukai, a professor at the China National School of Administration.
Located in a shopping mall in downtown Ningbo City, the placard reads, "For the convenience of our male customers, ladies please don't use the men's room."
KFC staff explained that female customers were using the men's room because they could not find enough toilets elsewhere. This prompted complaints from men who felt embarrassed seeing women in their restroom.
However, some Internet users have vented their frustration, arguing that women have no choice but to use male restrooms.
"Has the restaurant ever thought about the female customers? They'll only do this if it's an emergency," a posting said.
"But it's normal. I often think about using the men's room when I have been standing in a long queue for the women's lavatory while the men's is empty," a Weibo user, "Miss Toothpaste," said.
Similar predicaments appear in cities across China.
In Beijing, female citizens and tourists complain about waiting in queues outside public toilets.
"I'd like to let my wife use the men's room rather than waiting outside the women's for almost half an hour in the park during a weekend," said a Beijing native surnamed Wang.
In the latest effort to solve the toilet woes, the Beijing Commission of Urban Management and Environment may increase the number of public toilets for women. The new standard will make the ratio of female to male public toilets 1.5 or two to one.
Beijing has more than 12,000 public latrines, most of them located along main roads, squares, residential communities, parks, tourist attractions and markets in the urban areas.
But the number is obviously not enough for women, as long queues are often seen outside the public latrines.
The scarcity of public toilets has prompted many to use washrooms at KFC and McDonald's, as they have branches throughout cities and are regularly serviced and cleaned.
Beijing will build more than 2,000 public toilets by 2015, and some old ones will be renovated, said Cui Xuan, deputy director of the sanitation bureau of the commission.
Eight-minute walk
Cui said each of the newly built toilets will be around 300,000 yuan (US$47,870), and 100,000 yuan for a renovated one. He added that people will be able to find a public toilet within an eight-minute walk. In addition, visitors will be able to use a text messaging service to find public toilets around Beijing's tourist attractions, Cui said.
Guangzhou has a 12 million population but only 907 public toilets in its downtown, officials said. To address this imbalance, more than 5,000 toilets throughout 195 communities will be constructed or renovated.
In February, female undergraduates in Guangzhou City began a movement to "occupy men's rooms." In August, college student Huang Huanting and 14 friends staged a performance at the gate of the city's administration committee with a self-made toilet. She appealed for fair use of public latrines and more toilets for women.
Latrines are also being built in the cities of Shanghai, Shenyang, Zhuhai and Hong Kong.
There should be unisex toilets in places where there are large numbers of people, which could ease the long queues and increase the usage rate, said a Weibo user identified as "Stanley Xiao."
"It's more humane to build more toilets, especially for females. For Beijing to become a global city, such fundamental facilities should be constructed first," said Wang Yukai, a professor at the China National School of Administration.
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