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Vienna: A Viennese woman is suing the city council for discrimination over access to public toilets, complaining that women must pay to use cubicles while men can use urinals for free.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI was in a park with a friend and we both needed to use the bathroom. He could go for free, but I had to pay 50 cents. I thought to myself: How is that possible?\u201d Melanie Gradik, 27, told AFP in the Austrian capital\u2019s Augarten park.<\/p>\n \u201cI want everyone to be able to use the bathroom on an equal footing. Either we all pay 50 cents or no one pays 50 cents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not about the money, Gradik added: \u201cIt\u2019s a small thing, but it\u2019s also an example of how women are treated unequally in everyday life.\u201d<\/p>\n Gradik has filed a legal complaint against the municipality, arguing that exclusively charging women for access to public toilets violates the city\u2019s anti-discrimination laws.<\/p>\n According to her lawyer, Petra Laback, the fact that some public facilities offer free urinals for men creates inequality between the sexes.<\/p>\n \u201cMen have an additional free alternative, women do not,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n If Gradik wins her case, it could set a precedent across Austria, the lawyer said. \u201cThis will certainly have an impact on other municipalities.\u201d<\/p>\n Vienna currently has 168 publicly managed toilet facilities, 139 of which are free to use.<\/p>\n According to the city authorities, the 29 facilities that charge a fee do so because they employ toilet attendants.<\/p>\n\u2013 \u2018Objective justification\u2019 \u2013<\/h2>\n