In late July, the mayor of Cannes, in south France, decided to ban the burkini. The burkini is essentially a mixture of the words 'burqa' and 'bikini'. These are worn by Muslim women at the beach, as a way to stay true to their religion, as well as to be able to go to the beach and wear comfortable swimwear. The burkini, in my opinion, is like a speedo that covers your entire body. So, the mayor, David Lisnard, decided to ban women from wearing the burkini on any beach in the Cannes area. This came as a shock to most. A few weeks later in late August, France's highest administrative court, the French Council of State, agreed that the mayor shouldn't be allowed to ban burkinis.However, France has already banned the burqa and the niqab, articles of clothing worn by Muslim women, and the prime minister has even come out in support of the ban of the burkini. This is completely unjust. To me it just doesn't make sense because these clothing items are part of their religion. If they aren't allowed to wear those, how can they be faithful to their religion? That's like banning a mostly Catholic France from celebrating Mass on Sundays. This ban is being seen as "anti-Muslim" and I completely agree that it is. There is no reason why they should not be allowed to go to the beach, while staying faithful to religious beliefs, especially in a country where freedom of religion is written in their constitution.
I can synthesize this burkini ban to the Massachusetts Bay Colony people. Massachusetts Bay was said to be a place where there was religious freedom. However if you were Catholic, or you if had questions and didn't agree with Protestantism, you were persecuted, oppressed, etc. Banning the burkini in a place where there is "freedom of religion", shows that the citizens really
don't have the right to worship freely. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, there wasn't a true form of religious freedom, and I've learned that it seems to be the same way in France.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/is-france-right-to-ban-th_b_11845732.html
This is a very interesting article. I agree that they shouldn't be able to ban clothing, especially because its apart of their religion. I don't think there should be a law against wearing more clothes at a beach. Some people should were more clothes on a beach!
ReplyDeleteThis controversy is very hard to deal with, and I think France did it in the wrong way. One part of me understands why they made the choice, with all the tragedy the county has faced, its understandable that they would be paranoid. However, this is the wrong way to handle the situation. Banning something as simple as a swimsuit, is going to help nothing.
ReplyDeleteThis is similar to an article I wrote about, in which India is recommending women tourists to not wear skirt. This is taking it to the next level by not letting them wear something that is a key part of their religion. I understand the reasoning behind it, but that is not the way to handle the situation.
ReplyDeleteThis is similar to an article I wrote about, in which India is recommending women tourists to not wear skirt. This is taking it to the next level by not letting them wear something that is a key part of their religion. I understand the reasoning behind it, but that is not the way to handle the situation.
ReplyDelete