So despite being confronted by armed police and fined, it’s clear now that the women who want to wear these burkinis just aren’t going to give up without a fight.
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An unidentified woman, who appeared to be Muslim, was recently forced by police to take off some clothing on a beach in Nice, France.
France’s highest administrative authority is studying whether local bans on full-body burkini swimsuits are legal, amid growing concerns in the country and overseas about police forcing Muslim women to disrobe.
This enforcement comes as a mother-of-two revealed on Tuesday how she was fined on the beach near Cannes wearing leggings, a tunic and a headscarf – and received a ticket for not wearing “an outfit respecting good morals and secularism”.
But in Australia, where the beach is a national obsession, it’s seen as a symbol of inclusion, says its designer Aheda Zanetti.
The CFCM said it was also anxious about the photos that have emerged of a Muslim woman removing her tunic on a beach in Nice while surrounded by four police officers.
The burkini ban is only the latest instance of the French government stigmatizing Muslim women in the name of secularism and security.
The head of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) will meet Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Wednesday to discuss the burkini bans at the center of a bitter row over Muslim integration. “I had no intention of swimming”, she said.
A witness to the scene, journalist Mathilde Cusin, said some onlookers had applauded the police and shouted at Siam to “go home”.
The debate is particularly sensitive in France after a series of deadly attacks by Islamic extremists.
Mr Kbibech referred to her case in a statement ahead of his meeting with Cazeneuve.
Some of France’s five million Muslims also regret the ban.for safety reasons.
On Thursday, France’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, will on Thursday examine a request by the Human Rights League (LDH) to scrap the ban.
The Nice tribunal ruled on Monday that the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet was “necessary, appropriate and proportionate” to prevent public disorder after a succession of jihadists attacks in France, including one in Nice on July 14.
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This is not the country’s first foray into banning Muslim garments, either: In 2004, headscarves were outlawed in public schools, and in 2010, full-face veils known as niqabs were outlawed in all public places, period.
