Qurbani to Burkini, Grenoble Gets It Right

A quiet revolution has taken place in the city of Grenoble in southeastern France. While the rest of the country has a ban on the burkini - that one-piece swimsuit that looks more like a diver's wetsuit with an in-built swimming cap than anything 'Muslimwear' - Grenoble's city council has made it kosher in pools. It has also allowed men to wear long shorts in the water. And keeping France's culture and tradition in mind, it has also allowed women to continue to swim topless in the Alpine city's swimming pools. This is what inclusiveness is all about - whether in water or land.

The origin of all dress codes - and, indeed, social norms - is the body. What one wants to show and not show being overwhelmed by guardians who wish to dictate what one should see and not see. Nothing takes this to its most literal level than the arena of the swimming pool. While there are certain societies that will cry haraam at toplessness - or even what Zeenat Aman wore while running out of the sea in Qurbani - there are others who shout 'Blaspheme!' at the sight of a burqa let alone a burkini. What the Grenoble authorities are encouraging is people accepting all kinds of permissible swimwear (wearing a swimsuit made of ham, for instance, would be unhygienic) in their city. If you can't stand the heat, get out of the swimming pool.