I won’t look the other way

Last week, as I walked from home to Ndirande Market, I was taken aback by the caustic remarks by a man whom I estimated to be in his late 30s. The man was standing facing the brick wall of a house that is still under construction. He was standing close to where I was supposed to pass through. He was urinating and seemed unmoved as people passed by.

As I walked by, he turned and looked at me and asked: “Mayi osayang’ana kumbali? [Woman you couldn’t look the other way?] At this point his friend standing at a distant chipped in: “Kupanda mwambo amwene [She is uncultured].

I walked on without responding.

Well, I have a message for all men who urinate in the streets, we, women, live there too. And when you decide to answer the call of nature while we are passing by, do not expect us to look the other way. I for one will look where I am going because I don’t want to trip and fall just because someone decided to be a nuisance in public. If you so much crave respect, start by respecting yourself by not urinating in the streets. We all get pressed sometimes, but we exercise restraint.

Our cities are already an eyesore with too much uncollected garbage while our locations are littered with baby nappies that are not well disposed of. We can do without turning the streets and walls into public urinals.

Take, for instance, the Old Chileka Road at the Clock Tower right in the city of Blantyre. The stench that comes from Mudi River is mixed with the stench emanating from waste under the bridge as you go to Wenela Bus Depot. The place stinks and runs with urine.  I rarely see women squatting there but men standing and peeing with no shame at all, yet just a stone throw away there is a paying public toilet which doesn’t cost an arm at all. I understand urinating in public is an offence according to city by-laws, just like littering is also an offence. I also understand that it does not require the police to arrest people who urinate in public, we can do a citizen arrest.

I would suggest the city council sensitises residents on these issues. I recognise the efforts and calls by the council to keep our city clean by not littering and generally keeping our surroundings clean, but if these people (read men) who turn every tree, wall and space into public urinals are not stopped our city will still be as stinking as it always has been. We can do better. n