It has just been announced that the highest administrative court of law in France has suspended the ban on women wearing burkinis in public places.
The bans, which were introduced in the form of decrees from local Mayors, were issued following the Bastille Day attack in Nice and the murder of a priest in Normandy. So far 15 towns in France have banned the wearing of burkinis.
France is a secular country, with a long history of placing restrictions on anything which denotes religious affiliation. In 2010 it became the first country in Europe to ban women from wearing the veil in public spaces.
Since 2004, pupils in public schools have been banned form wearing any symbols or clothing which could be deemed as a sign of religious affiliation – this includes crosses and the kippa Jewish skullcap as well as items which could be identified as Islamic dress.
The suspension of this particular ban has occurred after a human rights group brought the case forward. It only applies to the southern town of Villeneuve-Loubet, which is near Nice. However, it could set a precedent for the ban to be overturned in other towns which have also banned the burkini – swimwear which adheres to Islamic rules of dress which some interpret as meaning that women have to cover much of their bodies and heads.
At the hearing yesterday which has resulted in the suspension of the ban in Villeneuve-Loubet lawyers argued that ‘the bands are feeding fear’ and ‘infringe’ on people’s ‘basic freedom’.
The debate about the divisive ban has centred around an image of a woman in a headscarf sitting on a beach in Nice,which is situated just yards from July 14th’s brutal Bastille Day attack, being forced to remove what was ostensibly a long sleeved top while surrounded by armed police officers.
The suspension of the ban follows calls from France’s President, Sarkozy, for it to be extended nationwide only yesterday.London’s first Muslim Mayor, Sadiq Khan, condemned the ban yesterday, saying it was wrong of anyone to tell women what to wear while on a visit to the country’s capital, Paris.
This debate will be unlikely to end here. There are those who argue that the veil is sexist. Their reasoning being that there is no Islamic dress code does not dictate what men should or should not wear to the same degree. However, there are others who defend it on the basis that some women do choose to wear it.
Regardless of which side of that conversation you situate yourself on, France’s decision to fine women for wearing religious dress in public, quite literally punishing them for their clothing choices under the guise of preserving civil order has generally been met with anger and disgust.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.