Perspective: Fight over restrooms is part of larger social issue | Syed Sajid Ahmad

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With all the physical and ideological differences among us, we all end up as human beings after all. Mutual respect and honor and sacrifice for each member of us should lead to a harmonious and equitable society.

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: In Forum
By Syed Sajid Ahmad | April 12, 2018

I grew up in Pakistan and lived there until the early part of 1974. Back then, most of my travel was by rail or bus. Railway stations had furnished restrooms where travelers could sit down on chairs or lie down on benches and rest while waiting for their trains. Toilettes were located separately.

I arrived in the U.S. the first time in 1976 to get married and take my wife with me to Africa. I got off the plane at the JFK airport. I called my hosts, and they asked me to wait at the airport. I was tired from a long journey and in need of a quiet place to sit down to rest. I looked around and saw a "restrooms" sign. I entered in anticipation of resting there, but was quite confused seeing people standing facing the walls. It was then I realized restrooms were toilettes here.

Wherever I've gone over the last 40 years in the U.S., I've always noticed larger lines outside women's restrooms than outside men's—at airports, malls, schools, office buildings, places of worship and even restaurants. I am sure that architects who design these facilities, the investors who sponsor them, and the cities that approve the designs have all seen this disparity as well. Everyone at some point must have realized there is a need to provide larger facilities for women than men, but somehow the problem persists.
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Complements: The Times of Ahmad

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