By JAMES TOZER
Last updated at 10:48 AM on 15th July 2010
Different: A squat toilet, also known as a Nile Pan, like the ones
which are being installed at the shopping centre
For centuries, the great British loo has been a matter of envy to
the rest of the world.
Thanks to the efforts of pioneers like the legendary Thomas
Crapper, we have long since led the world in comfort and
hygiene.
Now, however, that could be about to change.
For most of us, the squat toilet is nothing more than a staple of
horror stories about old-fashioned French service stations or the
exploits of adventurous backpackers in far-flung parts of
India.
But this basic form of plumbing, also known as a Turkish toilet or
Nile pan, could be coming to a shopping centre near you - and all
in the name of cultural sensitivity.
From next week, shoppers in Rochdale who push open the cubicle door
expecting the reassuring sight of a modern, clean lavatory could
instead be faced with little more than a hole in the ground.
Bosses of the Greater Manchester town's Exchange mall have
installed two as part of an upgrade costing several thousand pounds
after attending a cultural awareness course run by a local Muslim
community activist.
A familiar sight in parts of the Middle East, and still sometimes
seen in France and Italy, the toilets require users to squat above
them, rather than sitting.
With one in ten of Rochdale's population of Pakistani or
Bangladeshi origin, centre managers say they have been told some
members of the local Asian community prefer them for cultural
reasons.
Aware: Staff at the Rochdale Exchange were sent on a course
and opted to have the squat toilets installed
The town hit the headlines during this year's General Election
campaign when pensioner Gillian Duffy was dismissed by Gordon Brown
as a 'bigoted woman' when she voiced concern about immigration.
News of the introduction of squat toilets was met by disbelief,
however.
'This strikes me as a classic case of excessive pandering to a
politically correct minority,' said Philip Davies, Conservative MP
for Shipley.
'We in Britain are rightly proud of our toilets, and the onus is on
people who come to this country to appreciate them for what they
are.
'It's absolutely ludicrous - Thomas Crapper would be turning in his
grave!'
The Exchange shopping centre is in the process of refurbishing its
ladies' and gents' toilets, and the changes were made after
managers went on a cultural training course.
Proud Rochdalian: Ghulam Rasul Shahzad runs courses on cultural
understanding and community cohesion
It was hosted by Ghulam Rasul Shahzad, a retired Rochdale Council
training officer who runs courses for the groups including the
police on cultural understanding and community cohesion.
A former Labour council candidate, Mr Shahzad received the OBE from
the Queen last month for his services to the community and social
housing.
He was last year given a Community Crimefighter Award by the then
Prime Minister, Mr Brown.
Mr Shahzad took shopping centre manager Lorenzo O'Reilly and his
team on a tour around Rochdale's Central Mosque, including a look
at its toilets, as part of the course.
'The management at the centre were very committed to improving the
service they offered to the community and were very responsive,' he
said.
'We always work together to understand each other from both sides
and find a balance.
'That is the beauty of Rochdale. That is why I am proud to be a
Rochdalian.'
A spokeswoman for the centre said: 'We regularly receive cultural
awareness training from Ghulam and when we were planning the
toilets this was something that cropped up.'
As a result, when the facilities reopen next Monday, both the
ladies' and gents' will have a cubicle containing a squat
toilet.
Turkish or squat toilets are favoured over flush toilets in many
parts of Asia as they don't require expensive modern plumbing
systems.
Proponents of what some campaigners call the natural posture toilet
claim there are health benefits to squatting, rather than
sitting.
Canterbury Prison recently installed one for foreign inmates as
part of a £17,000 upgrade.
But they are regarded as unhygienic and backward in many parts of
the world - infamously, a controversial sculpture briefly displayed
at EU offices in Brussels last year lampooning member states
depicted Bulgaria as a squat toilet.
Mike Bone, of the British Toilet Association, warned the washing
facilities associated with squat toilets could pose a hygiene
hazard.
'We really don't see a need for them,' he said.
'Space for public toilets in places like shopping centres is
already at a premium, and if this is meant to cater for Muslims we
would point out that the vast majority use normal toilets in their
own homes.'