France's highest administrative court is expected to take a decision on Burkini ban.
30 towns along the French Riviera have banned the Burkini, the full bathing suit for women. Policemen armed with pepper spray have been patrolling the beach in Nice where the photograph of the woman being forced to take off her "extra" clothing was taken. The image went viral on the Internet and led to many saying France is trying to impose "cultural imperialism" and the ban is impinging on the rights of Muslim women.
26-year-old Rehma and 21-year-old Omeyma usually wear Burkinis to the beach but the ban means they cannot go for a swim to most beaches in their city.
Speaking to NDTV, Rehma says, "I wonder if today, France, that talks about democracy and points fingers at dictatorships, isn't imposing a kind of dictatorship on us by banning us from choosing how we can dress and how we can practice our religion".
She says she has to go looking for "secret, strategic locations" to swim in beaches where divers go wearing suits exactly like her Burkini.
Omeyma says she's upset that she no longer has access to the beautiful beaches in town because as a "Muslim French woman", she has all of a sudden become a "threat to French democracy."
Frederic Thiriez, a lawyer defending the Mayor of Cannes, who imposed the ban on the city told NDTV that it's a necessary step to prevent violence, including fist fights that have broken out recently. According to him, women wearing "ostensible signs of religion" are responsible for exacerbating communal tensions.
In the opposite camp, Catherine Cohen Seat representing the French Human Rights League says, "Women are being framed as a threat to public order because some racists are provoked by the presence of Muslims who demonstrate their religion on the beach"
Many feel that the backlash against Muslim women is the worst response the French Riviera could have had after the July massacre in which 85 people were killed when a man mowed them down with his truck on the promenade des Anglais, a famous street in Nice.
A member of the collective against Islamophobia in France, Myriam Ben Nafissa says that she is saddened by the situation because everyone is speaking on their behalf. "No one bothers to ask us what we think. This is stigmatization of the Muslim community and women are the direct targets."
France's highest administrative court is expected to take a decision on Friday on whether the Burkini ban should be lifted or not.
26-year-old Rehma and 21-year-old Omeyma usually wear Burkinis to the beach but the ban means they cannot go for a swim to most beaches in their city.
Speaking to NDTV, Rehma says, "I wonder if today, France, that talks about democracy and points fingers at dictatorships, isn't imposing a kind of dictatorship on us by banning us from choosing how we can dress and how we can practice our religion".
She says she has to go looking for "secret, strategic locations" to swim in beaches where divers go wearing suits exactly like her Burkini.
Omeyma says she's upset that she no longer has access to the beautiful beaches in town because as a "Muslim French woman", she has all of a sudden become a "threat to French democracy."
Frederic Thiriez, a lawyer defending the Mayor of Cannes, who imposed the ban on the city told NDTV that it's a necessary step to prevent violence, including fist fights that have broken out recently. According to him, women wearing "ostensible signs of religion" are responsible for exacerbating communal tensions.
In the opposite camp, Catherine Cohen Seat representing the French Human Rights League says, "Women are being framed as a threat to public order because some racists are provoked by the presence of Muslims who demonstrate their religion on the beach"
Many feel that the backlash against Muslim women is the worst response the French Riviera could have had after the July massacre in which 85 people were killed when a man mowed them down with his truck on the promenade des Anglais, a famous street in Nice.
A member of the collective against Islamophobia in France, Myriam Ben Nafissa says that she is saddened by the situation because everyone is speaking on their behalf. "No one bothers to ask us what we think. This is stigmatization of the Muslim community and women are the direct targets."
France's highest administrative court is expected to take a decision on Friday on whether the Burkini ban should be lifted or not.
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