Burkini” bans in Belgian municipal swimming pools

Banning as a default option

Bibliographic Data

ID12188339
AuthorsEva Brems (0000-0001-7712-4827, Professor, Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium, corresponding author), Saïla Ouald Chaib (Postdoctoral researcher, Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium), Katrijn Vanhees (PhD candidate, Human Rights Centre at Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium)
Year2018
Volume36
Issue4
Pages270-289
Publication date2018-10-05
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNetherlands Quarterly of Human Rights (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0924-0519 • E-ISSN: 2214-7357
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0924051918801613
OpenAlexW2895642371
LanguageEN
Citations received5

Muslim women’s religious dress is a matter that exercises many minds and the recent public debate on the so-called “burkini” (preferably phrased as “body covering swimwear”) is the umpteenth variation on the theme. Following the French commotion on the presence of “burkini” wearers at the coast in 2016, the “burkini” became the subject of public debate in Belgium. Whereas the “burkini” did not cause much public unrest in the context of the Belgian coast, the majority of local swimming pools in the Flemish region of Belgium do have dress codes banning the “burkini”, even before the (inter)national media outcry. This article discusses the prevalence of these restrictive dress regulations and scrutinizes the rationalisation behind local “burkini” bans in municipal swimming pools. These findings are complemented with the perspectives and experiences of “burkini” wearers, who challenged the “burkini” bans before the court. Finally, this article analyses the “burkini” bans in light of European human rights standards

Context (archaeology · Flemish · Geography · Political science · Politics · Rationalisation · Subject matter · Unrest · Gender and Women's Rights · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender

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