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German politicians row over use of burkinis in school swimming lessons

The Islamic full-length swimming suit known as burkini was the subject of a ban in France following terror attacks - AFP
The Islamic full-length swimming suit known as burkini was the subject of a ban in France following terror attacks - AFP

German politicians are embroiled in an ongoing row over whether schools should be allowed to distribute burkinis for pupils to wear during swimming lessons.

Franziska Giffey, the German minister of family affairs and a member of the centre-left Social Democrat party (SPD), said that children should be allowed to wear the garment – which covers the whole body, apart from the face, hands and feet – when they go swimming with their schools.

"The most important thing is the well-being of the children, and that means that all learn to swim," Ms Giffey said at an event on Sunday.

The full-body swimsuits could help integrate Muslim girls whose parents would otherwise take them out of the classes, she said, adding that it shouldn’t be "blown out of proportion” and made out to be “the downfall of the West”.

The issue has flared up in Germany in recent weeks, after Pestalozzi high school in Herne in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said it had purchased 20 burkinis to hand out to pupils for free.

Julia Klöckner, Germany’s minister of agriculture and a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party (CDU), said in response at the time that she was "surprised" about the decision. 

Distributing burkinis creates a "misogynistic understanding in a place where children and teenagers are supposed to learn the opposite," she said.

Serap Güler, the integration minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and CDU politician, also said it sent out "the wrong signal". 

Ms Güler, who has previously spoken against girls under the age of 14 wearing Islamic headscarves, said she believed the move was a "misunderstanding of tolerance".

Schools in the Western German state are under no obligation to provide special garments for pupils and the purchases were funded through donations, the school has said. 

The German Life Savers' Society (DLRG) recently warned that around 60 per cent of 10-year-old's in Germany are not competent swimmers.

In 2015 Mrs Merkel’s refugee policy saw Germany controversially open its doors to hundreds of thousands of refugees. Since then, the issue of integration has been at the forefront of political discussions in the country.