Fashion: Lycra for Liberated Women

Cu dorinta de a varia un pic subiectele (nu tot timpul ce a spus Osama sau Ahmageanu...) si de a satisface nevoile spirituale ale tutulor, iata o trecere in revista a ultimului racnet in materie de moda de plaja, insotzita de poza unei femei toride care experimenteaza costumul pe una din plajele Australiei.

Burkini

by Stephen Brown, FrontpageMag, 3/2/2007

Young Muslim women will definitely save money on bikini wax and suntan lotion at the beach this year.

That's because the burkini, the latest in swimwear for Muslim women, is making its appearance and creating quite a stir on Australia's beaches, famous for their scantily-attired females. A hybrid of the Islamic burqa and the Western world's much-beloved bikini, the lycra, two-piece bathing suit covers its wearer from head to foot, showing only the hands, feet and face.

The full-length swimsuit's designer, Lebanon-born Aheda Zanetti, told the media her lightweight creation is meant to allow Muslim women to enjoy water sports, while still remaining modestly dressed. The burkini also differs from other Muslim swimwear for females already in existence, Zanetti said, in that it is the first two-piece suit incorporating a head covering.

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Admittedly, the burkini has benefits. It liberates thousands of young Muslim women to enjoy the beach and a previously denied opportunity for healthy exercise with extra protection from the sun's ultra violet rays. It also protects them from men's unwanted stares, which has also prompted some non-Muslim women to buy the burkini. A few burkini-clad women have even been accepted for life guard training, an Australian institution, furthering their integration into Australian society. Especially after the Cronulla Beach riots of late 2005 between white Australians and Lebanese, this is welcome.

But it is outrageous that these young Muslim women still have to cover up in order to go into the water. It violates the Western concept of freedom of choice that these women are not allowed to choose what kind of swimsuit to wear. After all, there is no similar restriction on young Muslim men. But this is the same culture that allows the men to have four wives; grants male suicide bombers 72 virgins in heaven; doesn't allow women to drive a car in Saudi Arabia; and forces cliterectomies on defenseless girls, among other gender horrors.

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In their sexually repressed religious culture, Muslim women are held responsible for the men's behavior. If a man loses sexual self-control, then the woman must not have been modest enough in dress and behavior, and is to blame. Even the controversial Mufti of Australia confirmed this twisted attitude when, blaming women for rape, he said: "The uncovered meat is the problem." The Mufti also went on to describe women as weapons of Satan to control men.

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In fact, Zanetti says she has received heavy criticism from some Muslims regarding her creation and even a death threat. It seems a well-turned ankle and the visible curves of a burkini-clad woman are still too much for some of these eternally-angry Muslim men who fear succumbing to ungovernable sexual desire at the sight of a Muslim beach babe.

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