Female college students occupy the men's room at a public toilet in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, on Sunday, demanding more cubicles in the women's . Photo: CFP
Men going about their natural business might have to wait a bit longer than usual on Saturday, as the toilet block they are using might suddenly become the site of the latest "occupy" protest.
Female students plan to protest the imbalance in the provision of male and female toilets by staging an "Occupy Men's Toilets" event in Beijing, after their first protest on Sunday in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, caught the attention of local media, Web users, and even the government.
"It's for all women, who have had to wait in the unbelievably long lines at the women's toilet, while the men's room next door is almost empty," said the organizer of the protest, who asked to be known as Li Maizi.
"As men and women use toilets differently, the [average] current toilet cubicle ratio of 1:1 makes the distribution not so equal," she said.
Li, a Beijinger currently studying in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, said she and some friends had planned their first occupy event for Guangzhou, as she believes it is a more open-minded city that would consider or take on pioneering or controversial policies first in the country.
The group of young women, in their 20s, chose to occupy a men's room in Yuexiu Park, a public park in Guangzhou. After they asked politely for the men to make way for them, they occupied the male toilet block for a few minutes.
Li and the others gave the men a letter, explaining that due to anatomical differences, men often have additional urinals, while women need more time in the bathroom.
"The guys were shocked and confused at first, but after reading the letter we addressed to men at the scene, most were very understanding," said Li.
She believes the country should introduce a new nationwide regulation to ensure there are at least two female cubicles for every male one.
"I think that's only fair, and we could also benefit from spending less time waiting outside carrying their purses," said Wang Zhi, a male Beijing resident.
"The girls are inspiring, and I think it's time for the government to hear what the public want, instead of investing tens of thousands of yuan building nonsense five-star toilets," said Wang's girlfriend, surnamed Jin.
A Time magazine report in 2007 said men spend an average of 30 seconds using the toilet, while women take an average of 90 seconds, quoting a study from a US restroom expert.
However, male-female cubicle ratios from 1:1 to 2:3 are both acceptable according to the standards for designing public toilets issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in 2005. Beijing municipal government has also adopted the same standards since then.
"In Taiwan, the construction standards mandated that the cubicle ratio of public toilets must be 1:5 between men and women back in 2006," said Li Fangping, a lawyer from Beijing Yirenping Center, an NGO that promotes public health.
"I'm not aware of any such laws or even proposals to increase the number of stalls in Beijing in recent years," Li said.
A local college student, alias Huijin, who will participate in the campaign, told the Global Times yesterday they will work out the details for their "occupy" event, but would not reveal the location or any further details, so the protest would go off smoothly.
"About 20 women will join in. We're not sure how the men in the toilet will react, but we hope more people will understand and give us support to call on the government to provide more stalls for women," she said.
Guangzhou media gave the protest extensive coverage, prompting further online discussion and a reply from the local government Monday. The government told media that the cubicle ratio in a new Guangzhou planning law would be 1:1.5, which was disappointing, Li said.
"We truly hope it [higher ratio] could come true in Beijing and Shenzhen, where we will stage protests this coming weekend," said Li.