The Right Not To Wear A Burkini

WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHGT TO CHOOSE BUT WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THAT RIGHT IS PERSIEVED AS PROBLEMATICAL

Nervana

Tunisian women, one (R) wearing a “burkini”, a full-body swimsuit designed for Muslim women. Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images)

The ban on the Islamic burkini, or full-body swimsuit, on the beaches of the French Riviera has triggered heated debates and controversies. For some, it is a ban on freedom of choice; for others, the ban is a symbol of Islamist extremism. For me, however, it triggers painful memories of another struggle by women in the Muslim world who were stripped of the right to make their own choice on the matter.

“Maybe it is not a good idea to swim on a public beach,” one of my mother’s friends once told me with a stern look on his face. He then added, “You would be harassed in such a conservative culture as ours.” I was only 11 at the time and was struggling to swim. To be honest…

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