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A group of UN staff pose in front of an inflatable toilet, in front of United Nations headquarters in New York, in observance of the World's Toilet Day, Nov 19, 2014. [Photo/IC]

23 Chinese students, architects and engineers petitioned the government to revise its 2013 Standard for City Public Toilet Design to call for more women's toilets on Nov 19, 2014, the World Toilet Day, New York Times reported .

The activists demanded that the proportion of 1.5 women's toilets for every men's to be raised to two-to-one. It is reported that the average toilet time for a woman is 89 seconds and 39 for a man.

The petitioners argued that many major areas in Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai have the more appropriate toilet proportion. For example, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo used a ratio of 2.5 to one in setting up new bathrooms. And in 2008, when Beijing hosted the Olympics Games, the 60 temporary toilets set up at the Temple of Heaven used a ratio of four to one.