Several towns in strictly secular France have banned burkinis this summer, but some fear they are worsening religious tensions.
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A burkini is a swimsuit which conforms to the traditions of Islamic dress by covering the woman’s body except the face.
But Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, a feminist with North African roots, said that while she doesn’t like the burkini swimsuit, bans of the garment are politically driven and unleashing racist sentiment.
Anger over the ban was further inflamed when photographs were published in the British media of police surrounding a veiled woman on a beach removing her tunic. “Women who wear it are testing the Republic”.
On Tuesday, a 34-year-old mother, who gave her name only as Siam, told AFP she was fined on the beach for wearing leggings, a tunic and a headscarf.
The burkini ban in France, prohibiting full-bodied swimwear, has again come under fire after photos emerged this week of police armed with pepper spray and batons standing over a woman and ordering her to take off her traditional headscarf and matching top.
Like many other holiday hotspots, the city barred clothing that “overtly manifests adherence to a religion at a time when France and places of worship are the target of terrorist attacks”.
The woman’s account was confirmed by a witness who spoke to The Guardian. “Her daughter was crying”.
“The saddest thing was that people were shouting ‘go home, ‘ [and] some were applauding the police”.
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.
The high court began hearing arguments Thursday from two non-governmental organizations – the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group.
The U.S. has expressed concerns about measures taken in France regarding Muslim attire, in particular its ban on full-face veils in public spaces. LDH seeks to overturn a decision by a Nice tribunal that upheld the ban on religious clothes by the French town, Villeneuve-Loubet. The administrative court added that wearing “conspicuous” religious clothing on the beach may be seen as a “provocation” and increase tensions.
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The burkini ban will be considered by the Council of State this afternoon. The ruling of the State Council will likely set a precedent to be followed by other towns across the country, which must decide whether making a woman remove her clothes, worn because of her religious convictions, is fair when it is done in order to avoid offending the religious convictions of others.
