Muslim woman in 'burkini' told to leave pool in New Zealand

A council in New Zealand has apologised to a Muslim woman who was told to leave a public pool after wearing a “burkini”.

Auckland council has since apologised to the woman, who was swimming at the West Wave Pool in Henderson.

A witness to the incident said that the woman was part of a larger group that had swimwear on that covered her head down to the arms and legs. She called it a “burkini” that was made of swimming-appropriate material.

“Then one woman went into the pool with her kids and that’s when she was singled out by the lifeguard and told to leave,” the woman told the NZ Herald.

Council’s acting manager of active recreation Jane Aickin said that the outfits the women were swimming in were not thought to be “burkinis”, which are made of swimming-appropriate material.

The pool’s website says that “appropriate” swimwear is to be worn at all times. This included swimming togs, shorts above the knee and rash top. However, underwear and denim shorts are not permitted.

“We accept that this can be confusing at times and are working hard to try to clarify these rules for everyone,” Aickin said.

Islamic Women’s Council spokeswoman Anjum Rahman asked West Wave Pools to reconsider its swimwear policy to allow for swimwear that covers the full body.

“It’s really important that all members of the community have public pools that are accessible to them both for water safety reasons and for recreation,” she said.

“Particularly living in a country like New Zealand, having water safety skills is hugely important and we know not enough Muslim women are getting those skills. I think Auckland council themselves have acknowledged that and are keen to improve accessibility so that’s why this incident is so unfortunate.”

Aickin has apologised and told one member of the group that she would be made to feel welcome on her next swimming pool visit.

Three months ago a woman complained after she was singled out at Auckland council’s Albany pool because her bikini was judged to be too skimpy.

A “burkini ban” by about 30 French towns became an issue in French presidential elections in 2016 and the issue flared again when authorities in Grenoble banned women from wearing them.