Toilet occupation group is flushed with success(2)

Li was adamant that the occupations are not anti-male.

Men also have mothers, wives and daughters, and they have to wait for their loved ones outside toilets, she said.

However, an elderly man in his 70s, who declined to be named, was angry at the occupation.

"How could you do this? Men's toilets are built for men, not for women. What if a man wants to go to the toilet? It's over the top," he said.

Guo Jianmei, a public interest lawyer specializing in rights for women and children, saw it differently. "It's more than an act. We should respect women's rights. China has rules about public toilets but it's difficult to carry them out."

Guo said she is drafting a proposal on how to implement the rules, and would talk to some national legislators and political advisers.

In Beijing, the size ratio of men's and women's toilet cubicles is 1:1.5. But Li said the proportion should be 1:2 not just in Beijing but nationally, and unisex toilets should be promoted.

"Architects have to estimate how many people use a cubicle," said Jiang Zhongguang, a professor from the Urban Research Center at Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture.

"We should also consider rush hour and off-peak hours. Increasing cubicle size means more investment," Jiang said.

The number of women's cubicles should be increased in some places, such as shopping malls, because women go shopping more often than men, he said.

The cost of rebuilding urinals into unisex cubicles is not expensive, he said, but pointed out that they are only suitable in some places and there are issues of safety.

"Taiwan is promoting unisex toilets and there is an alarm in each cubicle to avoid sexual harassment. I think that is a good idea," Li said.

Cui Xuan, deputy chief of the environmental sanitation division at the Beijing municipal commission of city administration and environment, said the issue was important.

"Unisex toilets are convenient for those who have to look after the physically challenged, the elderly or kids. Beijing has these toilets, mostly in urban areas."