The Bare Truth About Burkinis - Ginger Haller

The article I chose is about how France is banning the Burkini, a swimming garment typically worn by Muslim women that conceals everything but their hands, feet, and face. The author Steve Chapman is against the ban because he thinks it oppresses Muslims and takes away their freedom to chose what they want to wear. He also points out that in France women can choose to go topless at beaches, but for some reason the modesty a burkini provides is not allowed. The government thinks that all Muslim women are being forced to dress the way they do and that by banning burkinis they will stop Islam's enslavement of women's bodies. This means France is telling women what to wear, in order to teach them that no one can tell them what to wear. This law is a contradiction in itself.

The representation of Islam in our society is huge today. Islam extremists put the religion in a very bad light and it causes people to have biases against Muslims. Some people want to deny them of basic rights by racially profiling or even banning what they can wear, but this is not the answer. All people should have the right to dress modestly and taking that away from them is just unfair.

This infringes on the core value of liberty. Banning burkinis is not allowing individuals to think and act as they choose, it also prevents religious freedom as well. This is an example of how the Constitution separates the United States from the rest of the world. This would probably never happen in America because our right to wear religious garments is strongly protected.

Do you think France decided to ban Burkinis in an effort to end oppression towards Muslims, or was the decision made more out of Islamophobia?