French PM: Burkini Symbolizes 'Enslavement' of Women
Jum'at, 26 Agustus 2016 - 15:06 WIB
French PM: Burkini Symbolizes 'Enslavement' of Women
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PARIS - French Prime Minister Manuel Valls defended a ban on burkinis in more than a dozen coastal towns on Thursday, saying France was locked in a 'battle of cultures' and that the full-body swimsuit symbolised the enslavement of women.
Photographs of armed police ordering a Muslim woman on a beach in the Mediterranean city of Nice to partially disrobe went viral on social media this week, upsetting many French Muslims and causing global consternation.
READ MORE: People Sharing Burkini Ban Meme to Highlight Hypocrisy of France's Stance on Swimwear
In a sign of rifts opening in the socialist government before a presidential election in 2017, France's Moroccan-born education minister said the debate was fanning racist rhetoric and being used for political gain. The health minister said France's secular values did not mean a rejection of religion.
“We have to wage a determined fight against radical Islam, against these religious symbols which are filtering into public spaces,” Valls said in an interview on BFM-TV.
Reiterating his stance on the issue, he said: “For me the burkini is a symbol of the enslavement of women.”
France's Conseil d'Etat, its highest administrative court, on Thursday began hearing a request by a human rights group for the burkini ban in the Mediterranean town of Villeneuve-Loubet to be overturned.A Muslim woman wears.
The debate over the burkini ban encapsulates the difficulties secular France faces as it grapples with a response to homegrown militants and foreign militants, following attacks on Nice and a Normandy church in July, and major deadly attacks in Paris last year. Security and immigration are now central issues in the presidential election campaign.
Photographs of armed police ordering a Muslim woman on a beach in the Mediterranean city of Nice to partially disrobe went viral on social media this week, upsetting many French Muslims and causing global consternation.
READ MORE: People Sharing Burkini Ban Meme to Highlight Hypocrisy of France's Stance on Swimwear
In a sign of rifts opening in the socialist government before a presidential election in 2017, France's Moroccan-born education minister said the debate was fanning racist rhetoric and being used for political gain. The health minister said France's secular values did not mean a rejection of religion.
“We have to wage a determined fight against radical Islam, against these religious symbols which are filtering into public spaces,” Valls said in an interview on BFM-TV.
Reiterating his stance on the issue, he said: “For me the burkini is a symbol of the enslavement of women.”
France's Conseil d'Etat, its highest administrative court, on Thursday began hearing a request by a human rights group for the burkini ban in the Mediterranean town of Villeneuve-Loubet to be overturned.A Muslim woman wears.
The debate over the burkini ban encapsulates the difficulties secular France faces as it grapples with a response to homegrown militants and foreign militants, following attacks on Nice and a Normandy church in July, and major deadly attacks in Paris last year. Security and immigration are now central issues in the presidential election campaign.
(rnz)
