Jasmine Kamal 
Have you been following the ongoing debate about the issue of banning the burkini swimsuits from certain places? For some time now there has been a clash between parties about allowing veiled women to wear burkini swimsuits in swimming pools in some clubs and beaches. This is not the first time this controversy has occurred, however it was the first time for me to see this matter from a different point of view, which is why I wanted to discuss this topic with you.
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Why is it when a veiled woman puts on her burkini and goes for a swim, she is faced with some kind of attack or judgement and even asked to leave because what she is wearing is inappropriate. When a non-veiled woman puts on a bikini and heads to a public beach to swim, she is allowed to swim freely. However, she may be attacked and accused of ‘public indecency’ because she is not hiding her body. This is exactly what women face in Arab societies, discrimination on whatever she wears, if she speaks up, or if she is harassed or sexually assaulted, there will be an attack against her. If she wants to go to work, or stay at home, there is an attack on her choice. It’s just got to stop! As long as nothing changes, we’ll be using all our time to stand up for our right to dress, work, life freely until we get what we want.
Admitting to a problem is the first way to deal with discrimination against women:
First, let us as women admit to our mistakes towards each other and work to correct them, this will give us the strength to confront discrimination in a patriarchal society. Being a women who is not veiled or vice versa does not give anyone the right to judge, accept or reject the other party based on ones clothes. In order to have your rights in this society, you need to respect the rights of others.
We as women, have a role to support each other, no matter what our differences are. Our role is to face society together, not to be enemies and practice discrimination against each other. You're probably wandering how? The answer is any action from signing petitions, boycotting the places that don't allow all women to swim and choosing to go to the places that accept us all.
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The Bikini Vs. Burkini
This issue has been a problem for so long, and frankly I just don’t understand what's the issue, after all they are both swimsuits made for swimming. They’re both made from the same material, they’re both meant for women. So, where is the probelm? Unfortunately the truth of the matter is, the problem is not the design or the material, the problem is in our minds. I personally do not see a difference between them. Both are made to the meet the needs of women after all. So, let’s stop this irrational or justified brawl and look at it a little more consciously. Let’s agree that it’s just swimwear, it’s a piece of clothing, we are arguing about clothing.
How will women earn their rights?
I actually do not have an answer for this question. All I know is that the moment we women stop discriminating against one another, and come together we will have the power to confront the racism of society. It is here and in this moment we gradually gain our freedom. It is the right of a woman, whatever the color of her skin is, nationality, religion, marital status, age, to do and wear whatever she wants.
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Photo Credits: Instagram @artopathic
