opinion

Forget the burkini ban. Maybe we should ban men from wearing suits instead.

Here is a photo I posted to Instagram on the weekend that has been generating a lot of response on social media these past few days:

'If we are to start telling people what to wear, maybe we should ban suits.' Image via Twitter.

The man who made the suggestion we ban men from wearing suits rather than women wearing hijab or burkinis was obviously joking but he made a clever point.

Let's be honest about the burkini ban in particular, and the more general discomfort we have with women who chose to cover themselves for religious reasons. It's not about harm or the likelihood of harm coming from someone covering themselves up. It's about the fear of Muslim extremists being amplified to unfairly include all Muslims.

Particularly Muslim women. Women at the beach. Women at the supermarket. Women in the workplace or picking their kids up at school or buying a coffee (or 14 coffees if you're a Muslim woman called Susan Carland who is a notorious self-confessed caffeine addict and who rocks a headscarf like nobody's business).

Because these women and their covered hair and bodies are the REAL threat to security and way of Western life, right?

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Wrong. Women choosing to cover themselves up in the same way as, say, a surfer in a wetsuit. Or a nun. Is that so offensive and dangerous to the fabric of society?

Isn't it funny how nobody ever suggests policing what men wear or how men look or how they choose to express their personal or religious beliefs through clothing. Just the ladies.

What has cheered me most throughout this unedifying episode in French history where law makers have scrambled to make burkinis illegal was this photo:

Image via Twitter.

Two women in full motocross gear, lying on a French beach to silently support their sisters by proving the ridiculous point that banning women from dressing in certain ways is both sexist and stupid.

Brava ladies. Well played.