Italian city bans the 'burqini' swimsuit

20 Aug 2009, 6:26 am   -   Source: AAP
3 Comments
Share This
+ Comment
3
Mayor of a northern Italian city has banned the burqini swimsuit (Getty Images)

Mayor of a northern Italian city has banned the burqini swimsuit (Getty Images)

The anti-immigration mayor of an Italian city has barred Muslim women from wearing the body-concealing swimsuit known as a burqini, an Italian report says.

RELATED

The anti-immigration mayor of a northern Italian city has barred Muslim women from wearing the controversial body-concealing swimsuit known as a burqini, an Italian newsagency has reported.

Women wearing the garment made up of a veil, a tunic and loose leggings face a fine of 500 euros ($A850) if spotted at swimming pools or riversides in the northern Piedmont town of Varallo Sesia, said the ANSA news agency on Wednesday.

"The sight of a 'masked woman' could disturb small children not to mention problems of hygiene," mayor Gianluca Buonanno was quoted as saying.

"We don't have to be tolerant all the time," he said.

Justifying the move, Buonanno added: "Imagine a Western woman bathing in a bikini in a Muslim country. The consequences could be decapitation, prison or deportation. We are merely prohibiting the use of the burqini."

Similar sentiment in Paris

Last week a swimming pool in Paris refused entry to a burqini-clad Muslim on similar grounds, adding to tensions over Muslim dress in France.

The incident came as French MPs conducted hearings on whether to ban the burqa after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the head-to-toe body covering and veil was "not welcome" in France, home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority.

Buonanno belongs to Italy's Northern League, a party allied with the centre-right People of Freedom led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

It has backed several initiatives hostile to Muslims.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

Girls just want to have fun

Narelle - from Bega, 4 months ago

This argument supposedly against burqa is being turned into a form of repression in itself. These woman who are happy to be wearing burqini's or whatever else should be excepted instead of banned. They are not wearing masks here, they are having fun. Given the choice I would ban showing too much bumcrack anyday.

How ridiculous

Stephanie Anderson - from Adelaide, SA, 4 months ago

How ridiculous is it that women wishing to dress modestly and inoffensively should be banned, actually banned, from doing so because it might frighten small children. As for 'we can't be tolerant all the time' - well perhaps we can't, but we can do way better than this.

Finally, someone stands up to them.

Julian Chu - from Sydney, 3 years ago

I couldn't agree more with Buonanno, if the Islamic countries take issue with the ban, it will be of the highest double standard given the strict laws they have in their own countries governing what women can and cannot wear.

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.