These photos were released Tuesday showing police officers in Nice, France, fining a woman for wearing a headscarf and long-sleeved top. They also appear to force her to remove some of her clothing.
Armed police on French Riviera order Muslim woman to remove burkini https://t.co/qtJ7KHv3Sf
When the photos hit Twitter, people were horrified.
Opposing an enforced dress code for women by enforcing another dress code for women doesn't really make sense to me, France. #BurkiniBan
Armed police force woman to take her clothes off. What part of that sentence is OK? #BurkiniBan
NEWSFLASH: You're not a feminist if you can be selective about which women's rights you want to fight for I'm afraid. #BurkiniBan
People were also quick to point out the hypocrisy of the bylaws that mayors in the South of France are using to enforce a ban on "burkinis," or modest swimwear for Muslim women.
Plenty of nuns in France. Can't see police telling them to remove their clothes #BurkiniBan
Would French authorities force these women to remove their outfits for not "respecting good morals and secularism"?
The bylaws in Nice do not specifically prohibit the burkini. Instead, they refer only to vaguely defined “proper attire.” “Access to public beaches is forbidden to ‘any person not properly dressed, respectful of morality and secularism, respecting the rules of hygiene and safety,’” the Nice bylaw says.
#WTFFrance but I guess this is okay because they're not Muslims 🙂👏🏻👏🏻
Est-ce qu'on les aurait aussi déshabillée ? J'ai comme un GROS doute. #WTFFrance
Also, if you look at the photos, the woman being fined by the police isn't even wearing a burkini and does not appear to have any intention of swimming.
So just to be clear - we aren't talking about a "burkini ban" - we are seeing this discriminatory law for what it is: a Muslim female ban.
'Coercing a woman out of a burqa is as bad as coercing her into one.' This can't be repeated enough. #WTFFRANCE
forcing women to uncover is just as bad as forcing us to cover up. #France #BurkiniBan
There's also the fact that the "swimsuit police" for women isn't even a new thing. In the 1920s, police officers would check the length of women's bathing suits and arrest those whose suits didn't comply.
Poignant pictures of the 'swimsuit police' of the early 1920s. https://t.co/uNEgtfkTFW #burkiniban
Regardless of politics or culture, if you're ok with a police officer telling a woman to remove clothing, something's wrong #BurkiniBan
There's even a #WTFFrance hashtag that's currently trending.
SORORITY #WTFFrance
For most people, the entire thing looks like assault.
In my world, when men with guns tell a woman to undress, that's an extremely serious assault, not a secular value. #Burkini #WTFFrance
A handful of celebrities expressed shock and anger as well.
Women forced 2 conform to dress code to make point that women "forced" 2 conform 2 religious dress code not OK...? https://t.co/Z10mOqsm3p
Fucking heinous, France. Who & what are you protecting, exactly? https://t.co/xdMyQfIgD2
.@France I just saw a picture of a woman in a burkini please turn off the internet
Even in these polarized times, I feel confident all Americans can unite in the belief that this French burkini ban nonsense is ludicrous.