Now the controversy has taken a new twist and moved on to the burqini. The name marries burqa and bikini, but unlike the burqa which covers the face, the burqini is merely a loose two-piece wetsuit, not unlike the outfits worn by deep-sea divers. It is a product of Australia's beach culture and was invented by a female designer of Lebanese origin who wanted to enjoy the beach with her compatriots while protecting her modesty. Burqini-clad Australians have even become beach guards.Last week, a swimming pool in a Paris suburb banned a woman -- a French convert to Islam -- from wearing a burqini, arguing that the garment, although made of the same kind of stretchy material as ordinary swimsuits, contravened rules of hygiene. The mayor of Ermenainville, Alain Kelyor, while denying the ban had anything to do with religion, felt the need to add his two pennies worth of theology. The burqini is “not an Islamic swimsuit, that type of suit does not exist in the Quran,” he was quoted as saying. I'm no expert in the scriptures, but I'm not aware of any religious book that mentions the bikini or the one-piece suit either. It seemed odd that an official in a secular country should seek confirmation for his policies in religion.
Now we hear that a town in northern Italy has gone even further and introduced fines of 500 euros for any woman caught wearing a burqini at the beach as well as at the swimming pool. “The sight of a ‘masked woman' could disturb small children, not to mention problems of hygiene,” the mayor of Varallo Sesia in the Piedmond explained.
Ironically, the polemic on the long-sleeved and long-legged garment takes place at a time when swimming champions are squeezing themselves into full-bodied suits for the sake of better aerodynamics. The garments may have been challenged for giving wearers an unfair advantage against their competitors, but hygiene issues were never mentioned. As for the hood built into the burqini, it should not be a problem since most pools demand that bathers wear a cap to prevent hair from clogging the drains.
When pop star Madonna was pictured swimming off the coast of Italy wearing loose basketball shorts and a tank top -- presumably to deny the paparazzi a chance to take unflattering pictures of her in a tiny swimsuit -- no one rushed to impose fines on her for diving into the sea in her chosen outfit. Why then should the burqini, which allows conservative women who would normally not go swimming to enjoy summer sports, be so disputed?
In July, Time magazine mentioned that the burqini was also worn by a growing number of non-Muslim bathers. Older women, women with body scars or those with a weight problem, reluctant to expose less-than-perfect bodies in image-conscious societies, have also embraced the less revealing swimsuit.
Fashion evolves: in Victorian times, women who dipped a toe in the water usually did so wearing long bloomers and loose overdresses. When the modern bikini first appeared in the mid-1940s, it caused a sensation and was seen by many as a symbol of loose morals.
While Westerners are often critical, and rightly so, of a narrow interpretation of Islam that is imposing severe restrictions on women's participation in public life in many Muslim countries, it seems rather counterproductive that in the name of “saving” them from oppression, European officials should place obstacles in the way of women seeking to lead an active life and limit personal choice. According to news stories, the Italian mayor even suggested Muslim women should stay at home and use their bathtub. The right to wear a bikini is undoubtedly a freedom, but the pressure to do so is not.
