Call for unisex toilets at CT International Airport

DA PROVINCIAL leader Bonginkosi Madikizela has stirred up a social media frenzy with a proposal for unisex bathrooms at Cape Town International Airport.

He said in a Facebook post: “I find it backwards, discriminating and stereotyping that just because you are a male, you must be searched by a male, if you are female you must be searched by a female.

“What about members of the LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex)? I am going to challenge this.

“We must also do away with male and female toilets, we must have unisex toilets.”

Madikizela said yesterday that the process would require public participation and consultation.

His post created a social media stir, and provoked some scepticism.

Sifiso Mathonsi said: “In a country full of sex offenders, predators and paedophiles, you are proposing a haven, an ideal situation for them.”

Mervin Mackelina said: “Outch (sic), this is a difficult one considering the society we are living in. We inherit the male and female societal structure, and the democratic dispensation must gradually phase in new rights.”

Lecturer and member of the Gender Equality and Inclusivity Working Group at CPUT, Dr Nyx McLean said: “Unisex or rather gender-neutral bathrooms are an important step forward in recognising the needs of transgender and gender diverse people, who may not feel safe using binary option (male/female) bathrooms.”