Muslim women lose swimming pool discrimination case
Two Muslim mothers in Sweden on Wednesday lost a discrimination case against an indoor swimming pool where the lifeguards had asked them to remove their veils and body-covering clothing. The Gothenburg court ruled the municipal pool had not discriminated against the women.
The women, Houda Morabet and Hayal Eroglu, were at the pool separately on two different occasions in April 2004, accompanying their young children but not to swim themselves. Both were wearing veils, long pants and long-sleeved tee-shirts.
The lifeguards testified that although there was nothing in the security regulations about veils, the rules did require people in the pool area to wear shorts and tee-shirts, even if they don't plan to swim. The mothers' cumbersome clothing would have prevented them from coming to the rescue of their children if necessary, they argued.
Via Islam in Europe
Martin Sullivan