French city approves ‘burkini’ for Muslim women in swimming pools
Burkini is the all-in-one swimsuit used by some Muslim women to cover their bodies and hair while bathing. It has become a controversial talking point in recent years.
Hyderabad: Muslim women in Grenoble can now splash into the swimming pools with burkinis, as the French city of Grenoble on Monday approved the wearing of the “burkini” in state-run swimming pools.
Burkini is the all-in-one swimsuit used by some Muslim women to cover their bodies and hair while bathing. It has become a controversial talking point in recent years.
Many right-wingers and some feminists would like to ban it outright seeing it as a symbol of creeping Islamism by its critics and an affront to France’s secular traditions.
The move has been championed by Grenoble’s mayor, Eric Piolle, one of the country’s highest profile Green politicians who leads a broad left-wing coalition at the city council, AFP reported.
Although he couldn’t garner the support of his own EELV party which distanced itself from the measure, he managed to rally enough votes at a city council meeting to approve the measure.
Piolle is quoted to have said, “All we want is for women and men to be able to dress how they want.”
Conservative head of the wider Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, Laurent Wauquiez accused Piolle of “doing deals with political Islam” to “buy votes”. He has promised to withdraw funding from the city.
