COMMENT | Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin had this to say, following the controversy about which restroom the transgender community should use:

"I would like to suggest that if any individual is confused, it is recommended he meets an expert to examine him while he urinates to determine the origin of the urine.

"If it exits from a male organ, then use the men's restroom. If it exits from a woman's genitals, then please use the women's restroom.

"If nothing comes out at all or if it does not come out from either male or female genitals, then please go to the hospital. If the doctors say you are disabled, then you can use the disabled restroom," he wrote on his Facebook page.

A few female friends I spoke to regarding this matter seem to agree with the mufti.

“It’s not about discrimination. It’s about safety,” they tell me.

I asked them if they had ever experienced being harassed by a transgender woman in a ladies’ restroom or if they had ever heard of such a case in Malaysia.

Ignoring my question, they said, “It’s also about comfort, you know. How can we ladies be comfortable sharing our space with those who do not belong in the ladies’ room?”

“I agree,” I said. “Comfort is important to me too. Which is why I think anyone who lacks hygiene care, including those who do not flush, those who step on the restroom seat and those who leave their bloodied pads exposed in cubicles of ladies’ restrooms should be banned from using it.

“And that includes women and transgender women. Don’t you agree?” I asked.

“What about aurat? Not all Muslim women expose their aurat in public like you do – some women need privacy,” they said, flaunting their headscarves.

Ouch.

“You have a point there,” I said as they smiled. “But if that is the case, why hasn’t anyone complained about male cleaners in the ladies’ restrooms and female cleaners in the gents’?”

Ba-dum-tish!

Basic human need

The thing is, using the restroom is a basic human need. It’s not some luxury. I am sure if it were an option, the transgender people would never want to use a public restroom at all – they’d rather hold their pee in and finish their business in the comfort of their own home. But when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go.

Frankly, nobody should have to worry about something so basic as answering the call of nature. Not you. Not me. Not transgender people.

Honestly, I am disgusted seeing the invasion of a person’s right to pee in comfort and privacy taking a backseat to some hypothetical situation created by some overly imaginative people while dismissing what really takes place in our society.

The truth is, women are not the victims of harassment by transgender people. In fact, it is the transgender people who often face harassment by both men and women.

It is the transgender people who should worry about being sexually or physically harassed and assaulted in public restrooms – not the other way around.

As a matter of fact, our ministers and deputy ministers who talk about protecting the rights, comfort and privacy of men and women should instead start talking about protecting transgender people. Surely, transgender people are part of our community and their safety should also be our priority, no?

An absurd argument

Truth to be told, these anti-LGBT policies that have been popping up recently are making things worse - for everybody.

I mean, imagine a muscular and bearded transgender man (who was born a female) walk in to use the ladies room. How do you think women would react to that?

And what about non-trans women who look too masculine and would be easily mistaken as members of the transgender community? Seriously, I do have a few aunties who look very manly, especially with their facial hair, if you must know.

Which brings us to an important question – should we now have restroom users present their identity cards before using the restroom?

Then again, with identity cards easily faked these days, perhaps the only way to actually enforce policies designed to restrict transgender people when using the restroom is for everyone to be subjected to genital checks before entering the restroom.

You see how the entire argument about "privacy" becomes absurd?

I don’t know about the Perlis mufti and my friends, but restroom privacy matters to me. If you feel the same way, then take a stand and just let people pee in peace.

Please.

FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.