Why these Five Women Wear Burkinis

France’s highest administrative court suspended a ban on the burkini in a test case in the southern town of Nice, yet the majority of mayors who support the ban are refusing to lift the restrictions despite the ruling.

Lawyers argued that the ban was feeding public fear and infringing on basic freedoms, but resistance from more than 20 mayors has left France in a dilemma about how to react.

Aheda Zanetti, the garment’s creator, says it isn’t something to be mistaken for oppression or a symbol of Islam. “It’s just a garment to suit a modest person, or someone who has skin cancer, or a new mother who doesn’t want to wear a bikini,” she says.

We asked women to tell us why they wear the burkini or dress modestly at the beach.

‘I am a Muslim woman and I am proud to be recognised as one’

We live in a materialistic society where people are very shallow and conscious about their appearance. I choose to dress this way because it gives me freedom. I don’t have to worry about strange men looking at my figure, desiring me in a sexual way or people commenting on the way I look and judging my looks or talking about my clothes.

I adhere to the Islamic dress code which is called a jilbab. It consists of a garment covering you from head to toe that exposes only your hands and face. Dressing in such a way is a commandment from Allah. I am a Muslim woman and I am proud to be recognised as one, regardless of what people think.

People react in many different ways depending on what’s happening around the world. Some people say I should go back to my country but three generations of my family were born here in London, so that makes me more British than half the people who say this to me.

I’ve noticed only people from an ethnic minority background will sit next to me on the train or bus. Other people will mumble things under their breath. But I’m an educated Muslim female who works and whose whole family are Christians. I pay taxes like everyone else so people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

We live in a multicultural society. Nuns dress like Muslims and so do Orthodox Jewish women – yet there is no uproar about the way they dress.

Anonymous, 26, estate agent, London, UK

‘I’m never dependent on a man to make me feel beautiful’

At the beach, I stick to long skirts and footless tights. I won’t swim but I’ll walk into the sea up to my calves and splash around with the kids. I wear a hijab covering my hair, head and neck along with either abaya or longline western clothes when in public. At home I don’t wear hijab.

The ironic thing about hijab and dressing modestly is that it makes me feel beautiful when I have it on and beautiful when at home I take it off. There’s an underlying acceptance here that in choosing to dress this way I’ve chosen to believe God has made me intrinsically beautiful – I’m never dependent on a man to make me feel this way. Of course a compliment on my appearance by a well-meaning man is flattering and occasionally I welcome it, but I don’t feel worthless if I go by unnoticed by strangers.

Other people’s reactions are generally either neutral or positive. Thankfully, nobody has ever given me grief at the beach in the UK. The negative experiences overall have been infrequent, but then I tend to avoid places where I feel there will be hostility.

I believe it’s a religious obligation for me to wear hijab and dress modestly in public. I’ve chosen to worship Allah and accept this is part of my faith – dressing this way makes me feel content and I like feeling that way.

It doesn’t make me feel morally superior as I don’t see the hijab as an absolute objective marker of being good. Our scriptures, both the Qur’an and Hadith, are peppered with examples that either implicitly or explicitly state that the heart is the centre of human value, so my co-religionists and I should never throw judgment on another person’s worth. This belief is consistent in both Sufi and Salafi interpretations of Islam – that judgment of the heart resides solely with Allah.
A young Muslim girl in year 10 asked my colleague for my name because she liked the way I dress – apparently I was her ‘style icon’!

Aisha, 29, Birmingham, UK

‘I don’t wish to be the prey of ogling men’

My choice of dress should give me respect. This is my body and I should have the right to cover which ever part of it I like. I prefer to wear the burkini because it gives me safety and comfort. I don’t wish to be the prey of ogling men.

Singapore is a multiracial country, and the government considers each and every person’s rights. People and government are not concerned about what you wear – bikini or burkini. They don’t interfere with your choice of clothes.

I always feel free to wear my burkini on beaches, public pools and resorts in Asia. People don’t look at me differently when I wear a burkini. France was always considered to be a country that safeguards individual freedoms and rights. But recent events suggest minority rights are being trampled and people aren’t allowed to choose their own lifestyle. The majority seems to be forcing their ideologies on the minority. This is not liberty or freedom.

Fafa, 33, Singapore

‘I am not a victim; no man makes me dress this way’

I try to dress modestly in accordance with the Qur’an and Sunnah, so I wear anything to the beach that doesn’t contradict my Islamic dress. I dress in what I consider a modest manner, which can mean jeans with a kaftan to conceal my shape or a maxi dress with leggings.

I love colour but my only requirement when out shopping is buy something not too form-fitting. I normally buy one size up. If I like something but it is sleeveless, for example, I will simply layer with a cardigan or a long-sleeved top to cover my arms. I do not show any skin except for my face, hands and feet. I have friends who wear the burkini and they are more than happy to be wearing it while taking part in an activity. This is part of our religious obligation.

In my garden or among relatives and obviously at home, my dress code is not adhered as strictly. I usually cover my hair with a hijab but if I am attending a girls’ only party I will dress up to the nines because there is no question of me being sexually alluring to my girlfriends. On the way to and from the party, however, I will cover up with a long light robe or kimono.

I dress this way because I love the power it gives me. No man will ogle me or make me feel small with a wolf whistle or leer. I am not invisible, I walk with my head held high. I am not a victim; no man makes me dress this way. Neither my father nor brothers give a damn how I choose to dress. I do not think anything less of women who dress differently to me.

My religion requires me to cover up, to beautify myself in a sexual way for my husband alone. I am more than happy to follow this aspect of my religion.

People react differently to how I dress. Some sneer ever so slightly and whisper behind their hands, others are more open in their hostility. Others simply stare and others pay no notice. I often find myself overcompensating when dealing with white non-Muslims. I feel the need to be overly nice and friendly, especially with hostile people, and more often than not I’m met with indifference, even though I’m going out of my way to be nice. On these occasions I do feel like saying ‘screw you’, but I refrain as I keep reminding myself of the beautiful and forgiving example of our prophet Muhammad who met enmity with kindness.

Amera, 36, Yorkshire, UK

‘I am commanded by Allah to be modest’

I enjoy wearing the burkini. As a Muslim woman I am encouraged by the Qur’an not to wear the same as non-Muslims and to remain identifiably Muslim at all times. Anyone who says otherwise is either putting their love of the dunya (or their culture first. As a Muslim, we believe this world is a temporary pleasure trap. It will seduce you from your akhira (our rewards in the afterlife). I am also commanded by Allah to be modest (hayaa) and observe hijab at all times. So I am covered up from legs to neck and my lower arms are on display when there are women or family members present. I’m white British, and a revert Muslim. I can be both British and Muslim.

Having grown up wearing normal swimwear, the transition to wearing a burkini is not hard. It is no different to wearing swim shorts and a long-sleeved swimming top. It also has the added benefit of preventing me from burning which, being a ghostly white colour for most of the year, was a painful and inevitable consequence of every visit to the beach or lido.

I’ve had a few long hard stares but nothing like what I had when wearing a niqab. But I’m a big girl, I can take it. I’ll argue anyone down who claims to know better than the Qur’an.

I’m currently holidaying in the Ile d’Oléron in France and have worn my burkini every day this holiday and, inshallah, I’ll be wearing it tomorrow and all holiday.
Jess, 44, Bedford, UK