The ban on French burkinis
The latest showdown over Muslim dress in France is at the swimming pool
The burkini: Popular with conservative women, not so popular with French politicians
(Flickr/Creative Commons/Giorgio Montersino)
There's trouble at the pool in Paris, said Peter Allen in This is London. A Muslim convert named Carole—who doesn't want her last name published—has been told she can't swim in a public pool because her three-piece "burkini" is "inappropriate." Pool staff said the head-to-toe swimsuit violates a rule against swimming clothed, but Carole said she's the victim of political discrimination.
This is the "summer episode in the saga of France versus Muslim dress," said Charles Bremner in the London Times. The official line is that kicking Carole out of the pool was just a matter of enforcing rules about hygiene. But French politicians have banned traditional Muslim headcoverings in schools, and are trying to curb face-covering in public, too.
The burkini incident is making an already tense situation worse, said Henry Samuel in Britain's Daily Telegraph. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has already angered Muslim groups by saying the head-to-toe burqas, or niqabs, are "not welcome" in France because they debase women. Now André Gérin, a Communist MP, is calling the burkini a "militant provocation" that should be banned. This is far from over.
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15 Comments
Posted by Nanetta, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 4:02 pm They don't mind topless but if a woman wants to cover they want to pass a law and exclude her from public display. They allow crosses to be worn in public. I thought the crusades were over a long time ago. Bush has been out of office for awhile anyways.
Posted by Sher, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 4:23 pm In many pools even shorts or 'jams' are not allowed.
Posted by Richard, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 4:29 pm I am willing to bet that if that person were allowed to wear that stupid outfit, most likely she would not wear it! Perhaps they shouldn't bother her and it wouldn't even make the news.
Posted by none, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 4:41 pm This wasn't at a beach but a pool. They dont allow ANYONE to wear clothing into the pool so there should be no exceptions. I dont think banning burkinis is a slight to muslim women. Its just hygiene. Just wear a tasteful onepiece with a skirt attached.
Posted by John_Galt, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 5:07 pm If a nonMuslim woman moved to a primarily Muslim country and didn't wear a burka or a burkini, I imagine the something would be said to the woman. And if it was a country that's laws adhered to Muslim Law, the woman would go to jail. In some countries, if a man raped her while wearing a bikini it would be her fault for attracting the man. How is forcing a person to follow the rules despite religious preferences wrong?
Posted by Lopi, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 6:38 pm Burkini my ass!!!
Posted by TriciaDM, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 6:54 pm It's struck me over the last few weeks just how very odd this French obsession with Muslim dress is. They haven't forbidden nuns to wear habits or reverends to wear collars. Will Jewish men be forbidden to wear the yamika? For some, wearing these items is simply a way to express their religious identity. It seems more important to protect a women who does not wish to wear such an item from reprisals from her community than to impose a dress code based on governmentbased assumptions about the meaning of a particular form of dress.
Posted by Doodie, Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 10:24 pm Not at all. They're allowed to have hygiene standards. They are what they are. I just got kicked out of a beach club 2 months ago for swimming in blue jeans. No need to make a religious issue out of it.Just posted a breakdown of my thoughts on this specific 'burquini' issue.doodiepants.com
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