asianpacificpost.com: https://asianpacificpost.com/article/10626-canada%e2%80%99s-bidet-divide.html

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Subject: NY-LEG-A036-MAMDANI
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2026

That gap is now becoming part of a broader conversation about hygiene, dignity, environmental sustainability and inclusion. The issue recently entered North American public conversation after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he hoped to install bidets at Gracie Mansion , his official residence.

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Canada’s Bidet Divide | Asian Pacific Post | Chinese newspaper -Vancouver, Richmond, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, North York, Montreal Skip to main content Wednesday, May 27, 2026 | Today's Newsletter | Login View Classifieds Place Classifieds ADD TO FAVORITES ADVERTISE DOWNLOADS CONTACT US Main menu Home News Editorial Feature Community Blogs You are here Home Canada’s Bidet Divide published by asingh on Tue, 05/26/2026 - 21:56 By Shilpashree Jagannathan New Canadian Media When Aliya Ali Shaikha moved from Dubai to Canada for university, one of her more profound culture shocks was not the weather. It was the washroom. In Dubai, she said, bidets were available in public washrooms almost everywhere. In Canada, she found herself – like other students – carrying water bottles into campus bathrooms because toilet paper alone did not feel hygienic enough. “The biggest culture shock was that there were no bidets,” said Shaikha, who came to Canada as an international student about five years ago. For many newcomers and international students, water-based bathroom hygiene is not unusual, luxurious or ‘eastern’. It is part of a daily routine. But in Canada, most public washrooms, campuses, workplaces and rental apartments are still built around toilet paper. That gap is now becoming part of a broader conversation about hygiene, dignity, environmental sustainability and inclusion. The issue recently entered North American public conversation after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he hoped to install bidets at Gracie Mansion , his official residence. The comment drew mockery online, and in some media, treated as a symbol of luxury or hypocrisy. But for students like Shaikha, the negative reaction missed the point. Her advocacy began last year at the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she applied for a grant meant to fund projects that would improve student life and leave a legacy on campus. Her idea was simple: install bidets in student washrooms. The grant was rejected, she said, but the university told her the idea was strong enough to pursue separately. That led to a pilot project with four bidets at UofT Scarborough. Since then, the campaign has grown. Shaikha said there are now 15 bidets installed across the university’s three campuses, in student-centre washrooms run by student unions. She also helped launch Bidets in Canada, a student-led organization advocating for bidet access across the country. Shaikha said the group now has more than 20 chapters, including students campaigning at universities outside Ontario and in the U.S. as well. Most of those campuses do not yet have installations, she said, but students are organizing, gathering survey data and asking administrations to consider pilot projects. The demand, she said, came without the group having to recruit widely. “We did not reach out to anyone,” she said. “They all reached out to us.” For students used to water-based hygiene, the absence of bidets can mean constant i

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