Hathaway’s modest swimwear in France highlights anti-Muslim bias
www.newarab.com
Many have pointed out that there is a double standard in France, where celebrities are praised for wearing the same clothing Muslim women are excluded for

New photos of American actress Anne Hathaway wearing a full-body wetsuit in the coastal town of Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera have sparked comment and debate over the double standards which Muslim women have to endure when they wear similar clothing in France.

The Oscar-winning actress, who announced her third pregnancy earlier this month, has been sporting many looks on her holiday with her husband.

However, it was her long-sleeved, full-length tie-dye patterned wet suit that caught the attention of many, who compared it to modest swimwear that many Muslim women choose to wear.

Many commentators took to social media to decry “double standards”, with Hathaway’s choice of dress at the beach accepted and praised while Muslim women who wear the hijab and full-coverage swimwear are often turned away from public pools and beaches.

She pointed out that often, Muslim women are forced to travel to another country in order to wear modest swimsuits freely, noting that many women in France don’t have that option.

“So here we are: Applauding a celebrity for covering her body in France, while Muslim women are still questioned, excluded, or restricted for doing the very same thing…Same fabric. Different headlines. One woman is called inspiring. The other is called oppressed,” she added.

France banned the hijab from public schools in March 2004, while prayers are prohibited in French educational spaces. Many Muslim women who wear the hijab in France also face challenges when it comes to finding employment.

Last year, Amnesty International said France’s hijab ban in all sports would violate human rights and unfairly target Muslim women.

    • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      67·
      15 days ago

      I just don’t like it when religious dogma is used as an instrument of repression in any context. That includes, but is not limited to:

      • mysoginistic, patriarchal practices that all abrahamic faiths have problems with, but that Islam is a particularly visible and well-known practitioner of
      • intolerant, close-minded thinking when it comes to psychology and identity (see: how large swaths of ALL abrahamic faiths treat LGBTQ+ people)
      • how Israeli “settlers” (read: arch conservative Jewish traditionalists), amongst many, many other things, generally treat Palestinians as non-humans while the Israeli government essentially encourages the practice
      • SocialistVibes01@lemmy.ml
        41·
        14 days ago

        how Israeli “settlers” (read: arch conservative Jewish traditionalists), amongst many, many other things, generally treat Palestinians as non-humans while the Israeli government essentially encourages the practice

        Is this your description on what’s happening in Gaza? Really?

        • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          14 days ago

          includes, but is not limited to:

          I am of course fully aware of the Gaza genocide. I was going for a bit of dramatic understatement.

          My point is that Israeli “settlers” have been pulling this shit for decades, and that the practice has a lot of religious tie-ins. The active genocide of Palestinians is abhorrent, though if we are being technical, simply an escalation in scale and intensity, considering the apartheid Israel has functionally enforced for damn near their entire existence as a state.