Burkini ban: Brewing misogyny with Islamophobia, French style

The burkini has landed France in a dilemma. The country's top court has overturned the burkini ban which was enforced in around 15 southern resort towns, calling it a violation of fundamental freedom. But mayors of these towns continue to ban the burkini in defiance of the court order.

France is in a quandary about how to react to this unprecedented standoff.

On August 26, France’s highest administrative court overturned the ban on burkini swimsuits. The court said the ban was "seriously and clearly" illegal. The court also decreed that the burkini ban breached the freedom of beliefs and individual freedom.

But mayors of many French coastal resorts are refusing to bend. David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, said the court ruling did not in any way change his conviction that "ostentatious dress, whatever the religion, is a problem in the current context".

Also read: France's burkini ban is Taliban-style moral policing, with a twist

For these mayors, burkinis are "Islamist" and a sign of the "Salafisation" of French society.

It does not help that some top French politicians have supported the opposition to the burkini. French prime minister Manuel Valls had caused divisions in his party by stating that the burkini was "not compatible with the values of France and the Republic".

Valls had supported the mayors if they believed that they acted in public good, and said the political debate on burkinis must continue. In a Facebook post, Valls said the burkini was "the affirmation of political Islam in the public space".

Even after the court ruling, police in many French towns continue to harass Muslim women. There have been several instances where the police have bullied women to either leave the beach or remove some of their clothing in order to comply with the burkini ban.

What is a burkini?

The word combines burqa and bikini – it is a type of swimsuit for women. The design is intended to comply with the Quranic instruction for Muslim women to dress modestly. Hence, the suit covers the whole body except the face, hands and feet. Since it is made of swimsuit material, it is light enough to enable swimming.

Some French towns had banned the burkini, claiming its association with Islamic extremism.

Also read: Why is France hounding women for wearing burkinis?

The Cannes mayor had prohibited access to the beach to anyone wearing inappropriate swimwear that did not "respect good customs and secularism". Thierry Migoule, head of Municipal Services in Cannes, said the rule was about banning "ostentatious clothing which refers to an allegiance to terrorist movements which are at war with us".

The Cannes ban stipulated that women who showed up at the town’s beaches in a burkini would have to change their attire or leave, or pay a fine of 38 euros ($42).

Soon, other resort towns in France joined the ban brigade, calling it an "Islamic garment", and to fight "religious proselytising".

It is ironical that when Marks and Spencer launched its signature burkini in March this year, British media hailed it as ultimate proof of Britain's multiculturalism.

Sadly, a mode of attire which is purely rooted in cultural and religious preferences has been regarded as an act of identification with terrorist groups.

For many French resorts, women who wear a burkini identify with terrorist groups waging war at France and other Western societies. Their mayors cited the burkini with having a possible link to Islamic extremism.

For France, the nation that prides itself on its principles of "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity", such bans and prejudices are preposterous. They are also racist and misogynistic.

It is clear Islamophobia that clothing chosen by Muslim women is targeted as having a terrorist linkage. The burkini ban amounts to "othering" well-integrated Muslims from mainstream society. It violates the founding values of the French state.

There is no difference between the Cannes decision and the rules enforced by societies which refuse women the right to choice. Such decisions reduce women to commodities which can be used to score points in ideological wars.

Is it correct that women’s clothing should be regulated and enforced by men acting in the name of the State, or from a position of authority?

Women are a vulnerable target, and we now see how Islamophobia is manifesting itself in a gendered way. It is sad to observe that Muslim women and girls, harmoniously integrated into French society, are being made victims of misogynistic Islamophobia.

Society must not allow humiliation and imposition of cultural imperialism on women.

It is extremely important to take a stand against the victimisation and targeting of women, and end it.