The ‘burkini’ is making waves across Europe

The ‘burkini’ has become summer’s most controversial piece of clothing. After several French seaside cities banned the full-body swimsuit from their beaches to “ensure safety”, a heated international debate broke out – reaching all the way to Tilburg University.

At the height of the holiday season, Cannes and several other cities on the French Riviera have banned the so-called ‘burkini’, a head-to-foot swimming attire worn by some Muslim women. According to supporters of the ban, the burkini has no place in a secular society that is threatened by Islamic extremism. Others believe that dressing the way you please is a basic human right.

“The sea belongs to everyone”

Thijs Pieters, secretary to Tilburg University’s council, eloquently shared his view on France’s burkini ban on his Facebook page. “The sea belongs to everyone”, he wrote in an open letter to the French. “It doesn’t care about God, nor about the Republic. Let those ladies swim in whichever swimming clothes they choose.”

But according to the mayor of Cannes, burkinis are not only problematic because they do not respect the “good morals and secularism” of the French Republic. He justified the burkini ban on security grounds: the controversial swimming costume could “disrupt public order”, he argued, and might even demonstrate “an allegiance to terrorist movements”.

A judge upheld the mayor’s decision, saying that the new rule was introduced to “ensure safety” in light of the current terrorist threat. However, Gerhard van der Schyff, assistant professor of public law at Tilburg University, questions the legality of the ban.

Legal or not?

France adopted a burqa ban in 2010, prohibiting Muslim women from wearing an Islamic veil that covers the face. There was a lot of discussion on the legality of this ban. “The European Court of Human Rights determined that the freedom of religious expression – in this case, the freedom to wear a burqa in public – is a liberty that cannot be restricted for the protection of public order”, Gerhard Van der Schyff explains. “There must be proof of imminent danger.”

Although the French government has labelled the burkini as “a burqa for the beach”, there is an important difference between burqas and burkinis. “The burqa conceals the face, whereas the burkini generally leaves the face uncovered”, says Van der Schyff. Therefore, the burkini ban cannot be legally justified on security grounds.

Fine

Van der Schyff does not see any evident legal justification for a burkini ban. Nevertheless, women who hit the waves dressed in a burkini on the French Riviera risk a fine of 38 euros.