Yahoo – AFP,
September 23, 2017
A Vespasienne or pissoir is a public street urinal invented in France that is common across Europe -- but is it suitable for women? (AFP Photo/JACQUES DEMARTHON) |
The Hague
(AFP) - Fed up with the shortage of public toilets for women? Dutch women took
the matter to the streets Saturday in a protest aimed at showing the
impossibility of using urinals that are exclusively designed for men.
"Women
from across the country are invited to demonstrate the (im)possibilities of
urinating in a public urinal built for men," said the organisers of the
Netherland's First National Public Urinal Urinating Day, or "Power to the
Peepee."
By
mid-afternoon, more than 160 largely discreet images had been posted on
Instagram under the hashtag #zeikwijf -- a Dutch word meaning "a woman who
urinates" -- many showing protesters attempting ambitious gymnastic poses
to get the angle right.
While
admitting the protest would be somewhat "tongue in cheek", organisers
have a serious message, saying they want to prove "that it isn't possible
for women to urinate in a decent, hygienic and dignified manner in a public
urinal designed for men."
The aim of
the protest is to draw attention to the lack of public toilet facilities for
women with the images to be sent to Jet Bussemaker, the Dutch minister for
Education, Culture and Science alongside a petition entitled "Urination
Equality in the Netherlands".
In an
example of the problem, organisers say there are 35 permanent public urinals in
central Amsterdam compared to three public toilets suitable for women.
The protest
was organised by a woman called Geerte Piening who was found guilty earlier
this week of public urination in a place where there was no toilet for women
for miles around.
Fining her
90 euros, the judge said she could have used a public urinal, saying: "it
may not be pleasant, but it is possible."
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