User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in Morocco

Public toilets in Morocco are generally lacking, with most not providing toilet papers. Open defecation is still practiced in some places. Intelligent public toilets began to appear as business people saw an opportunity in the market places.

Public toilets
There was a general lack of public toilets in Morocco in the lead up to and during the Covid pandemic. Most public toilets did not provide toilet paper. If they are plumbed, the plumbing cannot handle toilet paper so people cannot throw it in the toilet. Open defecation happens in rural places. There were few public toilets in Casablanca in 2016.

History
Nador had public toilets in the early 1900s. They were located next to the hotel, and were open air trench toilets.

Intelligent public toilets started to appear in Morocco starting in the early 2000s. The first boutique public toilets opened in Marrakech on 23 February 2016. They were designed for both locals and international tourists, and cost 5 dirhams to use. The company that built them, DarLodo, planned to open 150 more public toilets in Rabat, Fez and Meknes by 2022, with the goal of making the city desirable enough to host COP22. Many were launched by entrepreneurs seeing a need to offer such services in the public space. Salé, Tangier, M’Diq and Agadir had Belugas, intelligent public toilets designed by AccessPub, installed around 2021. The intelligent toilets included automatic flushing, anti-bacterial surfaces, automatic opening doors, motion-sensing faucets, and included ambient music and scents. They also had surveillance cameras to deter vandals.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in Morocco
Around 2.5 billion people around the world in 2018 did not have access to adequate toilet facilities. Around 4.5 billion people lacked access to proper sanitation.

In developing countries, unisex public toilets have been a disaster because they make women feel unsafe and fail to consider local religious beliefs. Across Africa, open defecation had social consequences. These included loss of dignity and privacy. It also put women at risk of sexual violence.

An issue in developing countries is toilet access in schools. Only 46% of schools in developing countries have them. Many schools around the world in 2018 did not have toilets, with the problem particularly acute in parts of Africa and Asia. Only one in five primary schools on earth had a toilet and only one in eight secondary schools had public toilets.

Islamic teachings suggest using water for cleaning after using the toilet. A popular item for Arab travelers to take with them on trips is a handheld portable bidet. Culturally, the left hand is often associated with being the one used to clean intimate areas after defecating. Consequently, people often do not eat from communal food using their left hand.

There are generally two toilet styles in public bathrooms in Africa. One is a traditional squat toilet. The other is a western style toilet with bowl and a place to sit. Sit flush toilets are the most common type of toilet in North Africa. Across Africa as a whole, only mid-range and high end hotels have western style toilets. Most of the rest have squat toilets, some with a tap to clean it after use.