Style Check | French burkini ban sends wrong messages about subjugation
Swimsuits that cover the skin are commonly used in Hong Kong and Asia. The ban is counterproductive and has triggered a backlash on social media
There’s no doubt there’s been a drastic shift in the social climate in France in the wake of the horrifying terror attacks. Tensions are understandably high as the country suffers blow after blow. But the burkini ban on several of the country’s beaches comes across as misguided, an ultra-politicised move using (limitations on) fashion to further stigmatise Muslim women. Cannes, Nice and Villeneuve-Loubet are amongst the now 15 municipalities to ban the garment on beaches, and authorities are indeed patrolling to evict or fine offenders wearing the burkini. Just yesterday officers stirred outrage as they forced women to remove the offending outfit in Nice.
The ban will come before France’s highest administrative court on Thursday, following an appeal from French NGO, the Human Rights League.
France is a country in a lot of pain, but this particular move comes across as reactionary displacement, mysogynistic and it’s hard to see how it is going to make France’s beaches any safer. And why is it only women’s clothing which has been targeted?
The sentiments have triggered a backlash on social media and in global news outlets.
The symbolism is distasteful and makes for uneasy reading. Mayors from the municipalities have reasoned that the burkini symbolises radical Islam and values that run counter to France’s.