Burkini Ban has been Overturned in France: 5 Lessons to Know and Remember

Did the Ban Perpetuate Violence Against Women?

If you saw the photos, you cannot get them out of your head – a Muslim woman lounging on the beach, wearing a turban-like scarf and a matching long blue tunic over a swimsuit complete with swimming leggings. Armed French police standing over her, forcing her to remove her tunic in plain sight of the public. Said members of the public hooting and hollering at her. Is this what we’ve come to? Isn’t that a form of violence against women?

Said Qudsia Raja, policy director of the National Domestic Violence Hotline in a Facebook update: “I can’t seem to stop thinking abt [sic] what’s happening in #France as systemic rape institutionalized by the state – complete lack of consent; forcible removal of clothing and a violation of a woman’s agency and personal space; and the use of firearms and law enforcement as a threat (power/control dynamic). If you’re dressed a certain way, you’re asking for it.”

Next: What about the shoe being on the other foot?