User:JustinePorto/Public toilets in the United Arab Emirates

Public toilets in the United Arab Emirates are rare. They are most likely to be found at malls, hotels, bus stations, cafes, restaurants, petrol stations, metro stations and cinemas. Many do not provide toilet paper.

Public toilets
A 2021 study found there were two public toilets per 100,000 people. Public toilets are found at malls, hotels, bus stations, cafes, restaurants, petrol stations, metro stations and cinemas. In the 2000s, some public toilets lacked soap, hand dryers and toilet paper. Places where food is served are not required by law to provide toilets for customer use. Government run facilities and facilities at bus stations tend to be dirty.

History
Abu Dhabi's municipal government announced in 2011 that they ere introducing new regulations to monitor cleanliness and hygiene levels in public toilets. The law required that a staff member at the business or organization where the public access toilet was located assign a staff member to monitor their toilet cleanliness. Businesses who did not keep their toilets cleaned could be fined and referred to the courts for further action.

Until the 2010s, many buildings in Dubai were not connected to a sewage system. As a result, their sewage needed to be trucked away.

Five public toilets were constructed in the Al Mamzar and Al Shindagha areas of Dubai in 2016.

In 2017, the Dubai Municipal government changed the law, and created fines of Dh500 for people caught engaging in public urination. To announce this change in law, the government placed 700 posters around the city in Arabic, English and Urdu.

Dubai residents, especially working class people and migrant workers, in 2017 requested the government build more public toilets in the city. Public toilets at that time were often squat toilets in poorly ventilated facilities where there might be graffiti and stall door locks may have been broken. They also did not provide toilet paper.

Regional and global situation impacting public toilets in the United Arab Emirates
Islamic teachings suggest using water for cleaning after using the toilet. As a result, a popular item for Arab travelers, including ones from the United Arab Emirates, to take with them on trips is a handheld portable bidet.