A group of Muslim women have protested a French ban which prevents them from wearing burkinis in a local swimming pool.
The women bathed in suits covering their entire bodies – apart from their face, hands and feet – in the city of Grenoble on Sunday (June 23).
The pool in which their protest took place, the Jean Bron swimming pool, is just one of many in the country which bans burkinis.
Members of the group Citizen Alliance of Grenoble launched ‘Operation Burkini’ last month, to defend what they say is the right of Muslim women, the BBC News reports.
Many people in France regard the modesty swimsuit as a symbol of political Islam and therefore a ban is placed on wearing them, despite it infringing on basic freedoms.
The group wanted to protest this, and therefore changed into burkinis, entered the pool and bathed for about an hour with members of the community – many of whom applauded them for doing so.
Video footage of the protest which was shared on social media shows several of the women singing, applauding and chanting in the pool. Upon doing this, the Muslim members of the group were told by lifeguards that their swimsuits were not allowed.
The women were later questioned by police and were each fined €35 (approximately £30) for breaking the rules, French news outlet France Bleu reports.
Two of the Muslim women involved in the protest, Hassiba and Latifa, told the BBC they should have the same rights as other citizens.
They explained:
We have a dream: to have fun in public swimming pools like all other citizens, to accompany our children whenever they want to have a swim while it is very hot in the summer here in Grenoble.
We must fight against discriminatory policies and prejudice in France, as we are actually deprived of our civil rights of access to public services and city-owned infrastructures.
In a Facebook post, Citizen Alliance of Grenoble said the protest, which was inspired by American activist Rosa Parks, was part of a campaign launched in May 2018 urging the Genoble Mayor Éric Piolle to reform the rules governing public swimming pools.
More than 600 Muslim women signed a petition asking for a change in rules, however they remain in place.
In 2010, France became the first European country to ban the niqab, a full-face veil worn by some Muslim women, in public.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).