Three Muslim women were expelled from public pools in the Spanish town of Burgos in recent days for swimming while wearing a Burkini in violation of local regulations, local outlets reported on Thursday.
The Burkini is a sharia-compliant swimwear worn by Islamic women that covers their entire body, except for the face, hands, and feet. According to the local outlet El Diario de Burgos, the Spanish city’s regulations prohibit entering or remaining in public pool areas while wearing street clothes or footwear, citing hygiene reasons.
The prohibition also extends not only to Islam-compliant swimwear such as the Burkini, but it also prohibits swimming in any other kind of garment that is not a standard swimsuit for both men and women.
Although Burgos’ public pool clothing regulations have have existed for over a decade, the Spanish outlet El Confidential reports that three women were recently expelled from Burgos’ El Plantío y San Amaro public pools over their failure to adhere to the regulations. The outlet noted that while there is no nationwide, similar hygiene-related public pool clothing prohibitions exist across the majority of Spain’s municipalities while nearby France has made its stance clear in the past.
“Municipal regulations make no reference to the potential significance of a garment that can be interpreted as a legitimate expression of modesty, but also as a sign of oppression, given that it conceals a woman’s body,” El Confidential wrote.
“In any case, it is undeniable that the burkini is an exotic garment to the majority of Spanish sensibilities,” the outlet added.
According to several Spanish outlets, a controversy arose with regards to the third expelled woman after the pool’s personnel ordered the group to leave. While the first two women’s garments classified as streetwear according to the town’s pool regulations, the third women reportedly claimed that her outfit was instead a “rashguard,” an athletic outfit that protects its wearer from prolonged UV rays exposure and rashes.
The town’s mayor, Cristina Ayala, addressed the situation speaking to reporters on Thursday. According to the newspaper El País, Ayala stressed that the regulations have long existed in Burgos and defended the actions of the public pools’ personnel against the three expelled women, noting that they were simply executing the municipal ordinance.
“[Swimming in a burkini] is not permitted at this time; regulations are being followed. Past practice is being respected; there is nothing different,” Ayala told local reporters.
Ayala, a member of the center-right People’s Party (PP), affirmed that her office’s Sports Council will bring the matter to the parties with municipal council representation — PP, the populist party Vox, and the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) — to have “political bodies weigh in on whether to continue with the same regulations and rules that have remained unchanged, or whether the matter needs to be reconsidered.”
“We are going to put it up for debate; we want to gauge what others think about it, and ultimately, we will make a decision. It is a good time for all the parties to weigh in,” Ayala reportedly said, per El País.
In addition to prohibiting individuals from wearing street clothes in public pool areas, Burgos’ regulations prohibit the use of wetsuits or Lycra suits in said areas, unless the person presents a medical certificate that justifies the need to wear said outfits.