Banned from swimming pool for following her religion

A Muslim woman was banned from her local swimming pool in France for wearing a "burkini" — a bathing suit which covers her head and body.

Carole, 35, says staff told her the three-piece outfit was "inappropriate" and has complained to police that she was the subject of political discrimination.

It follows President Nicolas Sarkozy's comments in June that burkas are a "sign of subservience" for women which should be banned.

Carole, who agreed to be pictured but did not want her surname published, bought the burkini in Dubai for about £40. It consists of leggings, a long-sleeved tunic, and hair covering.

"I was told that it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing off my body, which is what Islam recommends," she said.

Carole, who converted from Christianity when she was 17, said she called a number of swimming pools to check her burkini would be allowed.

She added: "The manager of the third had a look at the burkini, and originally said there would be no problem, but made it clear that he would not have the final decision."

Carole then bought a season ticket at the pool in Emerainville, near Paris, for herself and her children and they enjoyed a number of sessions. But she was later told she could no longer wear the swimming suit because it was a "hygiene problem".

However, Carole insists it is due to "political reasons". She said: "For me, it's segregation. I'm going to continue fighting to have a choice.

"I understand that the burkini can shock, especially as we're in France, but what disturbs me is that this is a political issue.

"I'm going to fight this problem through anti-racism groups, and if no solution is forthcoming I'll consider leaving the country." But Yannick Decompois, swimming pools director for the Marne-la-Vallie area, said: "This isn't anything to do with segregation, but simply a hygiene problem. We also ban people wearing shorts in pools — it's the same thing.

"This woman can easily wear her burka at the library. We can't see any problem there."

The case threatens to be hugely divisive in a country with a Muslim population of five million, the highest in Europe, but which has a strict policy of secularism which has already seen a ban on veils in state schools.

In June, Mr Sarkozy risked the wrath of Muslims by backing demands for the burka to be banned. He declared that the full-body Islamic gown is a sign of the "debasement" of women.

"In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," he said during a speech in Versailles. The president was supporting a call by dozens of French politicians for the ban.

The case would open the way for the courts to decide on people's rights to dress in a conservative Muslim fashion.

Meanwhile Palestinian children from the West Bank town of Tulqarem enjoy their first visit to the beach, at Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, today after the Israeli army gave them permits to enter Israel for one day