EUROPE DIPLOMATIC

With the summer weather, the debate surrounding the ban on burkini in public swimming pools has has reemerged. Muslim women defied a local municipality ban and wore the Islamic full-body swimsuit, violating hygiene rules of exploiting swimming pool in city of Grenoble.

Women who wore the swimsuit, which covers the entire body except for the face, hands and feet, were issued a fine of €35 ($40) by police, when they left the sport center.

The Jean Bron Swimming Pool is among several in France that have banned burkinis, and in spite of it many Muslim women violated the rules as part of an organized protest.

“Operation Burkini” has been created this summer by members of the group Citizen Alliance of Grenoble in order to defend Muslim women’s rights. The women are demanding that public pools, which currently require men to wear swim briefs and women to wear bikinis or one-piece swimsuits, change their regulations to accommodate Muslim-style swim wear.