The Burkini Ban

After many mayors and resorts in France imposed a ban on theburkini many people were left shocked at how such a progressive and democratic country could have such control over women’s clothing. The ban was met by much disagreement and many discussions on social media with the majority of people disagreeing with it as in today’s society it should be up to a woman herself to choose what she would like to wear and this ban took away that freedom.

This world-wide negative reaction led the courts in Nice to make a statement saying that the ban should be removed as it is seen as controlling and oppressive, they have stated that it is a “serious and manifestly illegal violation of fundamental freedoms”. Those who disagreed with the ban compared a burkini to a diving suit in order to highlight the hypocrisy and the weak grounds for the ban. 

Many of those who support the ban claim that it stems from the fear of terrorism - the ban only started after a terrorist attack on a French resort. However, the French courts said that this was not enough to issue such a ban as there is no connection between a woman wearing a burkini and terrorism.  Overall, the ban was not accepted by the general public with most people being open minded enough to see that by controlling a women’s clothing in such a manner it makes France no different to other oppressive countries. K A-K