A FRENCH woman who threw her lot in with the Magic Carpet People has been banned from swimming in a public pool in Emerainville, east of Paris, because she insisted on entering the water in a “modest” monstrosity called a burqini.
The woman had begun swimming in the pool in July, but this month staff stopped her, citing hygiene concerns.
Muslim women swimming fully-clothed
The ban, according to the BBC, comes as the government examines ways to limit burqa use after the President said they reduced female dignity.
At the pool, staff “reminded the woman of the rules that apply in all public swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed”, pool management official Daniel Guillaume said.
The woman was a French convert to Islam, and had bought the all-encompassing swimsuit in Dubai so that she would not have to bare herself to go swimming.
The nutter, identified only as Carole, grizzled:
Quite simply, this is segregation. I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France.
Emerainville Mayor Alain Kelyor insists “all this has nothing to do with Islam”, adding that the burqini was “not an Islamic swimsuit” and that “that type of suit does not exist in the Koran”.
In June the French National Assembly appointed 32 MPs to a six-month fact-finding mission to look at ways of restricting the use of one-woman tents.
In a major policy speech that month, President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burqa reduced women to servitude and undermined their dignity.
Mr Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles:
We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity.
In 2004, France banned the Islamic headscarves in its state schools.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
August 13th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
It's not only a case of hygiene, it's obviously bloody dangerous trying to swim while wearing this much clothing. The obvious answer is: If disrobing causes you so much embarrassment, don't go swimming!
August 13th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Swimming is good for you.
The reality is some Muslim women aren't able to go swimming because of the rules around modest dress.
Muslim women aren't likely to rebel just to go swimming.
Allowing Muslim women to swim in a burqini means they can get fit and mix with other non Muslim women.
This is a good thing.
Banning it and further isolating Muslim women is a bad thing.
Long live the burqini!
August 13th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
If she wants to leave France: great!!! Europe can do without nuts like this lady, plenty like her around.
August 13th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
"Quite simply, this is segregation. I will fight to try to change things. And if I see that the battle is lost, I cannot rule out leaving France."
Au revoir!
August 14th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Many pools in the UK have a ladies only session. Problem solved.
August 14th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Yet another whinger from the religion of outrage!
Why is it that converts to a religion; any religion, are more radical than the rest?
Why doesn't she go swimming at the beach? It's pretty warm in France.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:14 am
I know what you mean, Andrew, but encouraging it just reinforces the oppression of these women. In any case, it wasn't banned for cultural reasons, but, quite rightly, on grounds of hygiene. As I pointed out – there must surely be safety concerns as well if women are swimming in an outfit like this!
August 14th, 2009 at 7:18 am
@Andrew,
Nobody wants to stop her from swimming. France has some wonderful beaches.
However, it would be ethically wrong to discriminate this women by failing to recognise her as a member of the general public – all of whom must obey the rules.
Creating special rules for muslims IS segregation!
Demanding that rules should only apply to kufirs IS segregation.
Apartheid is wrong no matter who is getting the special treatment.
August 14th, 2009 at 7:56 am
It's nothing new or anti-islamic.
All the French public pools have a rule that roughly translates to "you can't swim in anything you'd walk down the street in" . I fell foul of it a few years back when I was told my baggy swimming shorts were 'the wrong style' .
After some enquiring I found they weren't rejected for being uncool but as part of the drive to stop people (builders and tourists were mentioned) coming in off the street, removing shoes and tshirts, and usng the pool to wash off the city's summer sweat and grime.
On a side note- I'm giving up on the Freethinker and unsubscribing. I like the topics of the stories here but I find the tone over the past few months has moved from discussion to insult. Gratuitous insults like 'Rug butters', 'crazy islamist pillocks', 'Magic Carpet People ' etc don't add anything to the stories. In fact for me they mean the Freethinker is no longer a site I recommend to people looking for places with a balanced rationalist viewpoint.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I understand what you are saying in respect of tone.
However, I do feel that some mockery (even of the scathing kind) is a modest, excusable and often extremely effective tool when faced by manipulative and agressive religious forces that would deny us our basic human rights by using all manner of threats (up to and including killing us) if we fail to go along with their preposterous, evidentially unsupported and ugly world view.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I think its time for her to leave France, maybe she should live in Saudi Arabia.
August 14th, 2009 at 11:16 am
I am sorry that you are leaving the Freethinker, Flippertie, but let me take the opportunity to remind you that, in the words of FT founder G W Foote, “The Freethinker is an anti-Christian organ, and must therefore be chiefly aggressive. It will wage relentless war against Superstition in general, and against Christian Superstition in particular. It will do its best to employ the resources of Science, Scholarship, Philosophy and Ethics against the claims of the Bible as a Divine Revelation; and it will not scruple to employ for the same purpose any weapons of ridicule or sarcasm that may be borrowed from the armoury of Common Sense.”
This principle has held good for the Freethinker throughout its 128-year history. Where are all those other secularist publications that chose to take a softer, more respectful line towards religion? All sunk without trace. So why change a formula that his proved successful for well over a century?
August 14th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
I was sorry to read your remarks as well, flippertie. I do think that some posters go a bit OTT sometimes, but then one can get a bit worked up about the stupid things that are said and done in the name of religion or superstition. In particular, there are others like me who have really suffered due to the indoctrination we received when young, so we are bound to get a bit worked up from time to time when we see the same thing being repeated! I also think that satire is sometimes the best weapon against these fascists, though I am well aware that there was plenty of it about in Germany in the Thirties, and a fat lot of good it did then!! (Sorry, Barry, I'm not suggesting that this site achieves nothing!)
August 14th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Of course, it's too much to hope for, but the sooner Carole and all her ilk leave France, the better for France. Unfortunately, too, France's gain would be some other places' loss. There really is no place for such people anywhere.
August 14th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
flippertie: There are expressions I don't like much either. However, The Freethinker is a feisty and very tough SOB magazine which I have been reading it since I came across the erudite, punchy, well written articles which continue. I didn't realise that writers could write like this until then. H.L. Mencken was yet to come within my ambit. This was in the 50's, I wrote an article which they published, and I was "warned as to my future conduct" by my Christian boss who somehow heard about it. After that it was pseudonyms for me for a long time. When you are 18, no money, council estate and no financial back-up you learn to be careful. And I learned that there is nothing as vindictive, cruel and sheer fucking pitiless as a pompous twat christian who does not like his superstition questioned. Take the rough with the smooth,flippertie, you are are more tolerant than this.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Have you heard that a "real" mermaid has been seen swimming in the Med. off the Israeli coast.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/200.....ermaid-f...
The local council has offered $1m to anyone who can bring photographic proof. I wonder if this mermaid is a burqini clad dame who has strayed into Israeli waters from Syria.
August 15th, 2009 at 11:48 am
"…there is nothing as vindictive, cruel and sheer fucking pitiless as a pompous twat christian who does not like his superstition questioned."
That, my friend, is beautifully put prose! May I use it elsewhere?
August 15th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Hope she hasn't got a bomb in her burqini!
August 15th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
A "mermaid" was spotted one day
Off of Israel, out in the bay;
But the Arabs all cried,
As her form they espied:
"That is Fatima, who's lost her way!"
August 16th, 2009 at 12:02 am
Technically the burqini is made of polyester, is light and safe to swim in like those controversial full body suits the elite swimmers wear. I doubt the women in the pic above is wearing a proper burqini because it looks like there's too much clothing.
http://www.smh.com.au/national.....eator-po...
Also although the rationale for the burqini is inherently based in Islamic culture which I don't agree with there are unintended beneficial aspects to it like it protects from the sun and women who don't feel comfortable swimming in some itsy bitsy swim suit because of their bodies can wear one of these instead.
August 16th, 2009 at 7:26 am
I think a little bit of name calling and ridicule aimed at those who consider many of us here to be 'less than human' is entirely appropriate and I fully support our right to do so.
August 16th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I couldn't watch the video, skg, as it buggered up my computer again, as so many of them do, and I have learned from bitter experience not to try viewing them again! (Anyone know why this is, or what can be done to prevent it?) However, burqinis seem to come in many styles. Some are certainly just like the full-body swimsuits, only with a hood, but I would imagine that many Muslims would consider that this just negates the very purpose of wearing the thing, which is to hide the female form! I don't know which type this woman was wearing, but some look for all the world like a loose top and "trackie" bottoms, so how would staff be able to decide whether a woman was wearing a swimsuit or outdoor clothes? flippertie summed it all up perfectly above, I think. Strangely, there doesn't seem to be any problem with women being raped at swimming pools, though we have no way of knowing how many sexual perverts frequent them for the purposes of titillation, but I have a feeling that it is not the sight of the naked female body that sparks their behaviour anyway.
August 17th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Thats right close yourmind to things that matter. Religious nuts have had the privilige too long to tell those how to live their lives to their rules. If you cant take critism then do not give it back.. Close your 'free mind' if you dare. Good and bad in everything but we must know what is wrong even if we do not like it. Humour should have a place in our lives, we need balance now. Hitler burnt books he disagreed with, so flippertie you want to go back to those times. Dont you realise the Freethinker isa life line for me. I have been told that as an Atheist I am less than human by the catholic church. __
August 17th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Thats right close your mind to things that matter. Religious nuts have had the privilige too long to tell those how to live their lives to their rules. If you cant take critism then do not give it back.. Close your 'free mind' if you dare. Good and bad in everything but we must know what is wrong even if we do not like it. Humour should have a place in our lives, we need balance now. Hitler burnt books he disagreed with, so flippertie you want to go back to those times. Dont you realise the Freethinker isa life line for me. I have been told that as an Atheist I am less than human by the catholic church. __
April 29th, 2010 at 6:03 am
Hmm… another Muslim Hating website.. that “monstrosity”, sir, happened to be quite innovative and safe to swim in. Did you think women 90 years ago wear the same things women wear to the beach now?
Quit being such perverts and jackasses.. just because someone doesn’t want to show you a thong bikini you get all hyped up about this and promote hating against people of certain religion for no reason.
You guys are just all mad about something stupid. And everyone needs to stop comparing Christianity, because it has nothing to do with this.
April 29th, 2010 at 6:10 am
By the way, if you see any picture of a Muslim woman swimming and there’s a Muslim man in it.. you’ll come to realize that he also has a shirt on.. so it’s not only women who “cover” that is so deemed offensive by atheists. Always judging one person to a whole.
I don’t judge one atheist to others, I don’t know why you should judge one Muslim as a whole community. You’re a free thinker, but it’s really getting you nowhere in life.. you’re going to blog about bitching and whining about other people who are fighting for rights and enjoying their lives, while you mope around with other few ignorant and hateful atheists, commenting and blogging, and hugging each other because you all agree on so much.
At least they want to swim. Most nuns do not even think about swimming. And for another point, leave the Christians alone!! Someone needs to focus on other things than being such a Jesus hater *cough!*
By the way, besides blogging, do you sit at home playing World of Warcraft and eat fish and chips all day? How much do you weigh? Or are you one of those very hip, Macbook-carrying, “open-minded” losers that goes to Starbucks everyday for free internet and have some coffee?
June 15th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Its funny how one woman as ‘barriejohn’ commented gets blamed for anothers acts of terrorism: “Hope she hasn’t got a bomb in her burqini!”
i don’t go around looking at every white male thinking he’s going to bomb the country when former British National Party member robert cottage possessed the largest amount of chemical explosives of its type ever found in the country (UK). How can you mock a person’s right to wear what they want in order to feel comfortable and enjoy life the way they want. no one’s forcing anyone else to wear it, just because you don’t want to and think its uncomfortable. clothes are a persons choice and human right to choose, what if you were told you could not wear something you like to wear, because everyone else think it looks rediculous on you, all humans have feelings and if you cant respect others feelings dont think others will respect yours anytime soon.