Whatshot
Through my eyes
Through my eyes
Date: 2016-09-02
There is a bizarre terror war raging in France, sparkling fears that it will flare out to other corners of Europe. It is the war on Burkinis, the full-body bathing suit designed to allow Muslim women to enjoy the beach while still respecting traditional codes of modesty.
This war, of course, is not really about swimwear. Social scientists say it is also not primarily about protecting Muslim women from patriarchy, but about protecting France's non-Muslim majority from having to confront a changing world: one that requires them to widen their sense of identity when many would prefer to keep it as it was.
For many around the world, that this spectacle occurred in France in 2016 was beyond belief: this, after all, is a country that calls itself a universalist republic of equal citizens and that — at least according to its own understanding of history — was the first in the world to emancipate women.
In my own experience, I can so relate to this, in 1981 my family and I arrived in Austria as Polish political refugees, we landed in the tiny village of Edlitz. Even though we were strangers to this infinitesimal community we were embraced by the locals and generally enjoyed our newfound freedom.
The one thing that did make us cringe, were the topless women at the public swimming pool. I remember it very clearly even though I was young, looking at women's bare breasts made me squirm. It was not that the Poles were prudes; it's just that nudity was not for public display and we were cool with that.
But my personal best was the look on the faces of the Austrian citizens when they saw my clan rocking up at the public pool wearing standard pantaloons (the old fashioned panties) and lacy bras, just your average cheap underwear - the traditional sunbathing attire of my birth country at the time.
Our cultural differences were what set us apart in those early days as refugees. Sure there were some weird things that we did not understand or chuckled about, for instance, the Austrian's dress code - the Lederhosen, those bizarre leather breeches that many Austrian man wore with such pride and pomp on special occasions.
It is only natural that we do not have the same trends and orientations. I mean how boring would it be if we were all the same, however as far as I am concerned women should be allowed to wear what they want. The decision should not be up to men, police, or even society at large. And that should be the case for all women, no matter where they live.
There's nothing inherently liberating in covering up, just as there's nothing inherently liberating in wearing next to nothing. But the liberation lies in the ability to choose.
A very clever man, Thomas Paine, once said, "If I do not believe as you believe, it proves that you do not believe as I believe, and that is all that it proves."
So let us all be kind and tolerant of one another, it costs nothing!