No Script

Please Wait...

Al-Ahed Telegram

Burkini Debate: Top French Court to Rule on Ban as Sales Increase

Burkini Debate: Top French Court to Rule on Ban as Sales Increase
folder_openEurope... access_time7 years ago
starAdd to favorites

Local Editor

France's highest administrative court is considering whether it's legal for towns to ban body-covering burkini swimsuits, which have become a symbol of tensions around the place of Islam in France.

Burkini Debate: Top French Court to Rule on Ban as Sales Increase

After human rights groups challenged a local burkini ban, the Council of State is scheduled to issue a ruling Friday afternoon.

At a hearing Thursday, lawyers for the rights groups argued that the bans are feeding fear and infringe on basic freedom.

The bans have divided France's government and society and drawn anger abroad, especially after images circulated online showing police appearing to force a Muslim woman to take off her tunic.

The mayors of Cannes, Villeneuve-Loubet and the Corsican seaside resort of Sisco imposed the ban last week, claiming that the burkini, which leaves only the face, hands and feet exposed, defies French laws.

Burkini Debate: Top French Court to Rule on Ban as Sales Increase

Meanwhile, the Australian designer of the burkini said she has enjoyed increased sales of the body-covering swimwear for Muslim women since three French cities banned it.

"Our sales have increased and the more they actually ban it, or the more they actually reject it, it doesn't mean a woman will stop wearing it," Sydney designer Aheda Zanetti stated.

"I think they've misunderstood, I think that when we produced the swimsuit it was part of integration, it was part of combining cultures."

Zanetti estimated that 40 percent of her sales go to non-Muslim women, with cancer survivors, body conscious mothers or women who want to protect their skin from the sun among the buyers.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

Comments