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French burkini ban is Islamophobic assault on women’s right to choose what to wear
The burkini ban which has now been imposed in at least 15 French towns has led to the shocking sight of a Muslim woman relaxing on a beach in Nice being surrounded by armed police and forced to remove garments.
The ban is yet another case of French authorities using the language of secularism to demonise Muslims – and particularly Muslim women. This follows the ban on the headscarf for public sector workers, among other attacks.
The ban has been justified as necessary to “protect” French society from terror and religious ideas. But the horrific terror attacks France has suffered in recent years were not the result of Muslim women choosing to cover up on the beach.
Sabby Dhalu, joint national secretary of Stand Up to Racism, said:”The Burkini ban is a grotesque violation of human rights. Imposing bans on women’s clothing is an infringement of women’s rights and leading to harassment with women being forced to remove clothing in public. The ban also represents an attack on freedom of religion and cultural expression. It took hundreds of years to win freedom, liberty and human rights. The French government should be upholding these rights not attacking them. Indeed French governing bodies should be more concerned about the French economy and the living standards of the French population, not what some Muslim women wear on the beach.”
Weyman Bennett, joint national secretary of Stand Up to Racism, said: “The appalling events in France are a wakeup call for anti-racists everywhere. The sight of women being harassed by armed police for expressing their religion is something that we should have left behind in Europe’s darkest days.”
We stand in solidarity with Muslim women in France and we oppose all attempts by the state to tell women how to dress.
PROTEST at the French Embassy in London this Friday 26
August, 6pm-8pm, French Embassy, 58 Knightsbridge, London
SW1X 7JT
Called by Stand Up to Racism (www.standuptoracism.org.uk) and supported by MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development, www.mend.org.uk)