Thursday, August 13, 2009

Paris area pools ban the "burquini"

In what has become quite a hot-button issue in France lately, area Muslims who wish to wear traditional head coverings have come under attack on a variety of levels.

I was fascinated by this video (in French, sorry) of a Muslim woman who purchased a bathing suit known as a "burquini" that allows her to enjoy swimming without uncovering herself. Goodness knows the Paris summers are hot and sticky enough that everyone could use a little water refreshment.

She's been banned from the pools, who say that her suit does not conform to pool standards (that are apparently pretty strict around here - see my previous post!). She's filed a complaint claiming that she has been discriminated against - again, a hot-button issue, but a sign of the times here in Paris these days.

What do you think? Should bathers be able to wear whatever they'd like, or do pools have the right to regulate the type of swimwear permitted on the premises?

Breitbart.tv Paris Pool Bans Muslim Swimsuit

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3 comments:

Meredith said...

Those commenters make me sick.

Emily said...

Pools should be able to ban anything they feel might be unsafe for the swimmers. That's as far as they should go. If a burquini is safe for the swimmer and to the swimmers sharing the pool, they should not have a right to ban it. That's my two cents.

Dan Dx said...

It's not a question of religious discrimination it's about safety and hygiene. The regulation of public pools says that long trousers are forbidden. As far as I'm concerned, I've been expelled from my local public pool because I wore a "short" (French (!) for short pants), that day I didn't invite the worldwide press... Too bad, maybe I've let some fame bass by!