This woman was at a beach in France when the police came & forced her to remove her burkini.
No difference than ISIS pic.twitter.com/LuPHfbYSZd— Yasmine (@cinephileyas) August 24, 2016
Since the images of armed police forcing a woman to remove her burkini on a beach in the south of France emerged, the world has reacted in shock.
The photos show at least four officers standing over a woman who was resting on the sand. After they arrive, she removes a long-sleeved tunic and one of the officers appears to issue an on-the-spot fine.
The move comes as part of a controversial ban on the full body swimsuit, claiming that it would help to liberate women from oppressive religious dress codes and help integration, Indy100 reports.
Ashley Csanady: Back off the burkini, the state has no place in the wardrobes of a nation https://t.co/F8gwiZPlEK pic.twitter.com/hJexWQ1zrN
— National Post (@nationalpost) August 19, 2016
The decree states that those caught wearing the burkini could be a threat to public order and will be cautioned and fined €38 (£33).
French prime minister Manuel Valls said the swimsuit worn by some Muslim women was not compatible with French values and is based on the ‘enslavement of women’.
But the public seem to disagree.
I'm speechless about that Burkini picture. The state-sanctioned humiliation of women.
— Ellie Mae O'Hagan (@MissEllieMae) August 24, 2016
In my world, when men with guns tell a woman to undress, that's an extremely serious assault, not a secular value. #Burkini #WTFFrance
— Amy Lawton (@socialchangeftw) August 24, 2016
So just to be clear – we aren't talking about a "burkini ban" – we are seeing this discriminatory law for what it is: a Muslim female ban.
— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) August 24, 2016
Now, doesn't really feel like the 21st century anymore, does it? #burkini
— Anh-Thu Cathy N. (@Kayde_Nuen) August 24, 2016
She's not wearing a #burkini. France's 'moral' police targeted her for her skin colour not her clothes. #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/AtAXJ7dSIk
— Commie des Garçons? (@KishWidyaratna) August 24, 2016
But perhaps the best tweet was a common comparison made with a photo of a police officer measuring the length of a woman’s swimsuit in 1925:
1925 vs 2016. 90 years later and we're still policing women on what they wear to the beach. #BurkiniBan pic.twitter.com/gOUKM8H8NZ
— Matthew Ruddle (@RuddleMatthew) August 24, 2016
The black and white photo shows a West Palm Beach police officer measuring the bathing suit of Betty Fringle on Palm Beach, to ensure that it conformed with regulations introduced by beach censors.
Back then it was about telling women to put clothes on, now it’s about telling women to take them off.
And people are using the comparison to demonstrate that women have always been policed on what they wear:
This suit is too big. This suit is too small. When will it be OK for women to wear what they want? #burkini pic.twitter.com/fi1w4jwVy1
— Christina Cerqueira (@cerqueic) August 23, 2016
women: being told what to wear, and how to wear it, since forever.
pic via @cerqueic pic.twitter.com/YMnq2SrkNY— Rossalyn Warren (@RossalynWarren) August 24, 2016
It’s disappointing to see that 91 years later, women are still being told what to (or what not to) wear.
