RSS FeedWoman Banned from Public Swimming Pool for Wearing a Burqini
A Muslim woman has been banned from using public swimming pool due to wearing a head-to-toe Burqini. French officials claimed that the ban was due to strict hygienic policies practiced in France and was not a discriminatory tactic aimed at Islamic women’s garb.
The Burqini was originally created by a Lebanese-Australian designer under the name brand of Ahiida Burqini Swimwear. They are 100% polyester, the typical material used for your average swimsuit and are also 50+ UV protected. The Burqini allows a practicing Muslim woman to be able to enjoy the pleasures of swimming in public while also being able to abide to her religious faith. What is surprising about this ban is that the Burqini is very similar to the Adult Unisex Stinger designed by Stingray Sun production products. This swimwear is a full body swimsuit, minus the head covering. Both products provide optimal protection against harmful UV rays and significantly reduce the risk of skin cancer which is a definite plus over the more modern swimsuits. Professional swimmers use full-body suits to reduce drag when they swim, without any alleged hygiene problems at all.
This latest news of the Burqini ban in France is no big surprise frankly. It seems that when it comes to the French government, in particular, there is noticeable opposition toward the Muslim female’s sense of modesty and her choosing to practice said modesty by wearing full body clothing. However, this newest ban against the Burqini is being represented as a concern over hygiene with the argument that the Burqini can be worn outside the pool facilities and therefore is more prone to carrying germs that will be transferred into the pool and potentially affect other swimmers.
The argument made by the French officials that this woman was banned from using the public pool due to hygiene is weak. There is no real evidence to prove that this Burqini carries more germs than the average swimsuit or that it is common practice to wear the swimsuit outside the pool facilities. These are all assumptions which are trying to back a seriously feeble argument in the hopes of distracting us from the real problem, which is the excessive discriminatory behaviour toward practicing Muslim women in France. It is very unfortunate that a woman is not free to enjoy the amentities that so many people take for granted. What is even more troublesome is that the French society, when segregating Muslim women in this manner are they themselves trying to control the female image and are implementing a form of oppression, which is a direct contradiction to their claims of freeing the Muslim woman from what they consider to be a form of “imprisonment”. From the perspective of these women, it is the French government that is “imprisoning” them and forcibly segregating them out of society.
A woman, be she Muslim or non-Muslim, should be able to make her own choices on her appearance and to dictate otherwise is really nothing more than malecentric domination.
Exclusive interview with Suaad Mohamud in Nairobi
Video (Toronto Star)
See also:
More on the Lisa MacLeod testimony row
Judge more chivalrous than sexist
… he was making excuses for her. Probably in a way he wouldn’t have done for a man, but probably as a way of softening his discounting of her testimony.
Maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t so much being insensitive to a woman as he was being overly considerate of the fact that she is a young politician.
Not to mention the fact she was probably the most likeable person he encountered during the trial.
Conservative Toronto Lawyer Speaks Out on Mohamud
Reproduced with permission of the author
Please accept my personal thanks for your recent public statement condemning the inexcusable treatment of fellow Canadian, Suaad Hagi Mohamud, by Canadian embassy staff in Nairobi, Kenya. The extremely inappropriate and shabby manner in which Ms Mohamud, as well as other Canadians of visible minority background, have been treated by various embassy officials is the subject of great concern by many Canadians especially those of us from visible minority backgrounds.
As a proud Canadian who has devoted his adult life to public service in Canada, including as an advocate for immigrants and minorities, I am saddened by the continuing entrenched culture of racism and discrimination that exists in our governmental public services – racism and discrimination that many of my colleagues and I have personally experienced and fought against over the years, including during the ten years that I worked as a federal prosecutor with the Department of Justice. Like many others, I continue to be greatly concerned about the snail’s pace of change in our government institutions on the important and critical issues of racism and discrimination.
Once again, thank you Premier for being unequivocal in your condemnation of the manner in which Ms Mohamud was treated.
Yours sincerely,
Mark
Update on Tori Stafford case
Accused in Tori Stafford murder in court
Her lawyer, Jeanine Leroy, says there is a “substantial amount of evidence” to review before the case goes any further.
No bail for Conrad Black
Lord Black fails in bid for bail
Disgraced peer Lord Conrad Black will remain in jail pending an appeal over his fraud conviction, the US Supreme Court has ruled.
Yale Press Bans Images of Muhammad
Infamous Muhammad Cartoons are decidedly not worth the fuss of re-publication according to dozens of experts consulted by Yale University and Yale University Press.
As reported by New York Times columnist Patricia Cohen:
So Yale University and Yale University Press consulted two dozen authorities, including diplomats and experts on Islam and counterterrorism, and the recommendation was unanimous: The book, “The Cartoons That Shook the World,” should not include the 12 Danish drawings that originally appeared in September 2005.
Right-Wing Extremist Militias on the Rise in the U.S.
It might just be that the War on Terror will have to begin at home.
Eileen Sullivan of Associate Press states,
The stress of a poor economy and a liberal administration led by a black president are among the causes for the recent rise, the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center says. Conspiracy theories about a secret Mexican plan to reclaim the Southwest are also growing amid the public debate about illegal immigration.
“They’re back,” Southern Poverty Law Center says. Matthew Rothschilds goes further, “the crazies are out in force.”
The article points to this video from the Ohio Militia:
Guns don’t kill people. People like this with guns kill people. Southern Poverty Law Center point out that the group has even called for marches on Washington.
Sullivan continues,
A series of domestic terrorism incidents over the past year have not been directly tied to organized militias, but the rhetoric behind some of the crimes are similar with that of the militia movement. For instance, the man charged with the April killings of three Pittsburgh police officers posted some of his views online. Richard Andrew Poplawski wrote that U.S. troops could be used against American citizens, and he thinks a gun ban could be coming.
The FBI’s assistant director for counterterrorism, Michael Heimbach, said that law enforcement officials need to identify people who go beyond hateful rhetoric and decide to commit violent acts and crimes. Heimbach said one of the bigger challenges is identifying the lone-wolf offenders.
But are these just isolated individuals?
Some of these people on YouTube claim their numbers are as high as 150 million.
Is it possible for these people to influence the far-right in Canada?
The Militia Movement
The Second Wave
The return of the militias and the larger antigovernment ‘Patriot’ movementNativists to ‘Patriots’
Nativist vigilantes increasingly adopting the ideas of the ‘Patriot’ movementTerror from the Right
75 plots, conspiracies and racist rampages since Oklahoma CityDownload the report (PDF)
No fear
- Experts vindicate woman trapped in Kenya
- DNA test proves identity of stranded Toronto woman
- Whose fault is it?
- ‘This nightmare will be over’
- Canada ignores desperate Mohamud — again
- McGuinty hammers Ottawa for ignoring stranded woman
- Ottawa’s shameful `imposter’ case
- Official identity loss
Many trash the government for hanging Suaad, our fellow Canadian, out to dry when she desperately needed help. By all means, the government deserves that. Trash hard.
But don’t forget another lesson of this story. When government officials have leeway, no one knows what’s on their mind. No one knows why they decide one way or another. No one can tell for now what on earth moved that low-level hack in our High Commission in Kenya to throw Suaad to the wolves. We should learn that when our life, rights, liberties, and security are at stake, government officials in charge must have no such leeway. They must follow precise rules.
There is a legal term for this freedom of maneuver, this leeway that officials have in making a myriad decisions that they make. It’s called discretion. The rule of law means, whenever possible, officials must follow the law rather than their own discretionary whims. Specific legal rules must bind Canadian officials who have the power to accept or reject our passport in some foreign country.
The world is so small now. Canadians should not fear international travel because our government can randomly dump us without justice and without hope. We should know exactly what the government will be obliged to do if anyone questions our passports. We should be guaranteed justice. We should have no fear.
Can a busy female politician give reliable evidence?
From the Globe and Mail: Can a busy female politician give reliable evidence? A judge says no …
Another Canadian in trouble for online gambling business
Canadian indicted in U.S. on online gambling charges
Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment when asked about the prospect of extraditing him. Canada will extradite its citizens only if the laws under which they are charged are similar to Canadian laws.
“It raises the issue whether one country can apply its law to citizens of another country,” said Javad Heydary, a Toronto lawyer with experience in gaming law.
“We do not have anything close to the U.S. legislation,” he said, alluding to the U.S. Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Breaking news: DNA test proves identity of stranded Toronto woman
The breaking news about what was obvious for such a long time: a 31-year old Canadian woman is exiled in Kenya by our government.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/679116
Bring Suaad back home.
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