New Delhi, June 28: Two municipal swimming pools were shut down in Grenoble, France by lifeguards after Muslim women went swimming in burkinis, The Guardian reports. So as to challenge a ban on full-body swimwear, the women went swimming in the pools twice on account of the Alliance Citoyenne rights group.
Along with activists, seven burkini-clad women demanded the right to bathe in the swimming pools in Grenoble irrespective of the rules that were imposed. The ban was discriminatory according to them.
Men are required to wear swim briefs and women, bikinis or one-piece swimsuits as per the rules and regulations of the public pools in Grenoble. The Guardian also reports that the protesting women want the pools to alter their rules to accommodate burkini wearers.
Meanwhile, in a statement released by the town hall, the reason behind the lifeguards asking for the shutdown was explained. “They are there to maintain safety and they can’t do that when they have to worry about the crowds. We are working towards a positive solution,” the statement said, as per The Guardian.
After the incident, “far-right” politicians expressed their displeasure while Eric Ciotti, local MP of the rightwing Republicans party, said on Twitter that the burkini “has no place in France where women are equal to men”.
France was the first European country to ban the full veil in public spaces in 2011.
