Toilet occupation group is flushed with success

Women demanding more public facilities make their voice heard.

Wang Lailin, 20, a university student from Zhengzhou, in Central China's Henan province, felt the first flush of success after she used the men's toilet in Beijing.

"Women were waiting outside and some were using the men's toilet. So I followed them. It was quicker and I saved time as I had a train to catch," she said.

Wang is one of those who benefited from the "Occupy Men's Toilet" group, which wants more public conveniences for women.

Female students in Beijing on Sunday occupied cubicles in the men's toilet near Deshengmen. Their purpose was to make sure that women who were waiting outside could use the facilities first. Volunteers outside the toilet held banners demanding "More conveniences for women, more gender equality", and "If you love her, don't let her wait in line".

"It's more difficult for women to answer the call of nature than for men as there are insufficient public women's toilets and the time women spend in the toilet is two or three times that of men," said organizer Li Tingting, 23, a university student from Beijing.

Li staged the first occupation on Feb 19 at a public toilet in Guangzhou, and set off a fierce public debate.

The urban management commission of Guangzhou responded last week. It said that since March, new and renovated women's toilet cubicles in Guangzhou have been required to cover an area at least 1.5 times that of a men's cubicle. Colleges and universities in Guangzhou have already enlarged women's cubicles.

Similar incidents can be traced back to 1996 in Taiwan. Following a protest by a group of female college students, toilet cubicles for women were enlarged.

According to an online survey on Sina Weibo about 84 percent of netizens, out of 2,824 who replied, were in favor of building more public toilets for women, while 9 percent were against it.

The occupation is on a temporary basis out of understanding for men's needs.

"We only occupy the men's restroom for 3 minutes, holding it for women who are in a hurry to go to the toilet. A new round of 'occupation' follows 10 minutes later. Men also need to use the facilities. Volunteers explain to passers-by just what is happening," Li said.