Why Burkini Swimsuits Are Causing Controversy

8/26/16
 
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from The New York Times,
8/24/16:

AP EXPLAINS

French mayors are drawing international anger for banning the burkini, an all-encompassing swimsuit worn by a small minority of Muslim women. The Associated Press explains the core of the controversy.

WHAT ARE BURKINIS?

They’re a recent retail invention, not a religious requirement in any country. Around a decade ago an Australian woman of Lebanese origin created a swimsuit for Muslim women designed to permit them to keep their bodies covered while working as lifeguards on Australian beaches. Her design was dubbed the burkini or burqini.

WHY BAN THEM?

France is both exceptionally secular and unusually fearful of Islamic extremism following last month’s truck attack in Nice that killed 86 people and slaying of a Catholic priest during Mass in Normandy, both claimed by the Islamic State group.

While the burkini’s defenders have argued that the wearing of the garment has nothing to do with promoting bloodshed, mayors have countered that wearing the outfits could undermine public order by make other beachgoers angry or afraid.

The French, who famously ban baggy men’s swim trunks from their pools, also argue that excessively large women’s swimwear poses a similar risk to public hygiene.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls says burkinis represent the enslavement of women and puts his opposition in the context of France’s promotion of women’s rights worldwide.

But France’s predominant argument is that the burkini violates France’s century-old commitment to promote secularism in public life.

BACKLASH TO THE BANS

French Muslims say they feel stigmatized by the restrictions, while some police have complained that the new rules are too vague or problematic to be enforced.

Images this week that showed Nice police appearing to instruct a burkini-clad beachgoer to remove her tunic stirred indignation online.

IT’S POLITICS

Critics say the anti-burkini crusade reflects a far right, anti-Muslim agenda that could prove to be a vote-winner in France’s 2017 presidential election.

Many mayors to the fore on the issue are members of former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s conservative Republicans party. Sarkozy, who is seeking re-election, said Wednesday: “We don’t imprison women behind fabric.”

A LESS SECULAR WORLD

France’s stringent secularism is exceptional in the western world, and much of the rest of the world is struggling to understand France’s actions. Protesters rallied Thursday against the French bans in London and Berlin.

THE MUSLIM FASHION

Women in Muslim countries wear a range of swimwear, from bikinis to full-length garments, reflecting their personal tastes and understanding of their faith.

Burkini-style wear has generated debate in Morocco, with its large tourism industry. In Egypt, some resorts, elite clubs and restaurants ban veils entirely and the wearing of burkini-style outfits in swimming pools. Religious conservatives, who have been gaining ground, say such bans perpetuate a colonized mentality by enforcing Western-inspired freedoms and styles.

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