The Burkini: A Closer Look At The Swimwear That's Making Headlines

The burkini has had a controversial summer in France.

A number of towns along the Riveria banned the burkini — a portmanteau of "bikini" and "burka," and a type of swimwear — in the wake of the deadly Bastille Day attacks in Nice. Officials argued that the body-covering swimwear isn't in line with France's secular views; French socialist prime minister Manuel Valls called the burkini "a symbol of the enslavement of women." Critics of the ban did not agree that the burkini is a symbol of oppression or extremism.The latest twist was the Friday ruling from France's highest court, addressing the ban in one town. The court suspended the ban, saying it "seriously, and clearly illegally, breached the fundamental freedoms to come and go, the freedom of beliefs and individual freedom."

Here's a closer look at the swimsuit that launched a worldwide debate.

The burkini was created by a Lebanese-born Australian woman.

Aheda Zanetti is credited with inventing the alternative swim gear in 2004 to accommodate a hijab-wearing niece who wanted to play sports. She's even trademarked the name "burkini." Zanetti says she strove to make something that made modest dress work with the active Australian (and beach-focused) lifestyle. Zanetti's designs aren't the only option. Companies from Jordan to the USA, like Veilkini, East Essence and YEESAM also offer modest beachwear.

The goal of the burkini is to marry swimwear with Islamic values.

Practicing Muslim women follow the Koran's call to "cover and be modest" in dress. Zanetti's Ahiida brand makes a few different types but all have the following elements: a long-sleeved tunic with a knee-skimming seam and an attached "Hijood" head covering and pants. They come in a variety of colors and patterns, including deep plum with a swirl design and a silver look with multicolored stripes. The fabric, 100 percentpolyester, is lightweight, resistant to chlorine and quick-drying — and provides UV protection. The burkini leaves only the face, hands and feet visible.

Muslim women aren't the only ones to favor modest swimwear.

Western swimwear has evolved dramatically over the centuries — in the 1800s, suits covered most of the female bather's body. Meanwhile, Orthodox Jewish women havestrikingly similar swimwear. As for the burkini — and do-it-yourself variations — they're part of the beach scene in India, North Africa and other areas where Muslims live (and swim).

The public outcry against the ban has been huge.

Muslim women from across the world have some common refrains: The ban is sexist, Islamophobic and, above all, extreme. "France's way of battling this extremism is with an extremist act," said Nayema Jilani, a British Muslim woman interviewed in a video on the topic done by the Huffington Post.

The ban isn't only an issue for Muslim women. Protesters threw a beach party at the French embassy in London on Thursday, complete with burkinis, sand and inflatable toys. An Algerian man dubbed the "niqab Zorro" has offered to pay the fine for any woman ticketed in France for sporting a burka or a burkini.

Backlash looks as if it's good for sales.

Some may be protesting the burkini ban with their wallets. Zanettii cited 60 online orders last Sunday compared to a typical 10 or so per day. A burkini will set a shopper back anywhere from $30 or so to about $100, depending on size and style.

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/26/491477033/frances-highest-court-suspends-burkini-ban-in-one-town

who-Muslim women

what-A number of towns along the Riveria banned the burkini — a portmanteau of "bikini" and "burka," and a type of swimwear

when-2004

where-France

why-Officials argued that the body-covering swimwear isn't in line with France's secular views

keyword-extremism,fundamental,beachwear,protection,percentpolyester

Week9-Girls head human rights event

Hadiqa Bashir of Pakistan nearly became a child bride when she was nine years old, but now she is devoted to putting an end to the practice, she said at a human rights event in Taipei.

Bashir, 14, was one of four Asian Girls’ Human Rights ambassadors who attended a news conference held by the Garden of Hope Foundation yesterday to mark Taiwan Girls’ Day, which has been observed on Oct. 11 since 2013.

Bashir, a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Awards, has launched a movement to fight for the rights of girls and has organized demonstrations to protest child marriage and all forms of violence against women and children.

At yesterday’s event, Bashir told the story of a classmate who was forced into marriage when she was seven years old.

The classmate did not return to school after the wedding, but came to a farewell party in her honor not long after and looked very pale with tears falling down her face, Bashir said.

It was then that they realized her husband had beaten her with a wire, Bashir said.

It was intended that Bashir be married to a taxi driver when she was nine years old, but she protested and eventually won the support of her uncle in resisting the planned union.

She continued her education and decided to publicly advocate an end to child marriage, she said.

Other event ambassadors, Inessa Arshakyan from Armenia, Zolzaya Ganbold from Mongolia and Peng Liang-yu (彭亮瑜) from Taiwan, also shared stories about fighting for girls’ rights.

Arshakyan, 17, is an advocate for biological conservation, environmental protection and helping girls from socially disadvantaged families.

Arshakyan said that in Armenia selective abortions are common if the fetus is female, because traditionally men own the house and pass it down to their sons.

Arshakyan said she is lucky not only because her mother chose to have her, but also supports her cause.

She said she hopes that the media can raise awareness of gender issues, such as selective abortion and child marriage.

Tomorrow is Taiwan Girls’ Day. The day is also the International Day of the Girl Child, which was declared by the UN in 2011.

Hadiqa Bashir of Pakistan nearly became a child bride when she was nine years old, but now she is devoted to putting an end to the practice, she said at a human rights event in Taipei.

who-Bashir

what-Hadiqa Bashir of Pakistan nearly became a child bride when she was nine years old

when-Oct. 11 since 2013

where-Taiwan Taipei

why-now Bashir is devoted to putting an end to the practice

Keywords-protested / awareness / Foundation / selective / demonstrations / abortion 

Week8-Slowdown hits UK’s Brexit economy

The UK economy appears to be weathering Brexit better than many expected, but it is still heading for its weakest performance in a year.

After a 0.7 percent expansion in the second quarter, economists in a Bloomberg survey anticipate just 0.3 percent growth in the three months since the vote to leave the EU.

While that is far from the recession that some warned the referendum would trigger, it would still be just half the average quarterly pace over the past four years.

The data is the first official indicator of how the economy as a whole has fared in the aftermath of Britain’s decision to divorce from its biggest trading partner. Surveys and data on consumer confidence and services, the biggest part of the economy, have held up after an initial post-vote dip. Still, the pound has slumped 18 percent since the vote and uncertainty about any new EU trading relationship might weaken business investment.

“There are still challenges ahead, let’s not get too carried away, but certainly it’s a decent start,” Investec economist Victoria Clarke said. “From a position where we could have seen a huge shock to sentiment and a much bigger hit to services sector, it will be a decent performance.”

The report from the statistics office is to be published on Thursday as Bank of England (BOE) Governor Mark Carney and fellow officials are to begin discussing new forecasts before announcing their interest-rate decision on Thursday next week.

They cut rates to a fresh low in August and restarted bond buying as a defense against the Brexit vote, and some have questioned whether the stimulus was needed in light of the rosier-than-anticipated outlook.

That issue might come up tomorrow, when Carney is to be questioned by lawmakers in the upper house of British parliament on the BOE’s response to Brexit.

Among the topics the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee said it would address is whether the governor “misjudged” the impact.

“There is probably a reasonable chance still of another cut in interest rates over the coming months,” Capital Economics economist Ruth Gregory said. “Although we can take some comfort in the resilience of recent data, the economy is clearly not out of the woods yet.”

Data in the past month indicate that both industrial production and construction might have declined in the third quarter, leaving services to drive growth.

Budget numbers on Friday last week showed Britain is on course to borrow billions of pounds more than planned this year, leaving Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond with little wriggle room on fiscal stimulus. 

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2016/10/24/2003657784

The UK economy appears to be weathering Brexit better than many expected, but it is still heading for its weakest performance in a year.

who- The UK economy 

why-it is still heading for its weakest performance in a year

when- Thursday next week.

where-UK 

what-The UK economy appears to be weathering Brexit better than many expected

Keywords-economy / slumped / reasonable / performance / services / defense 

Week-7-US denies Syrian aid worker entry

The leader of a Western-backed rescue organization that searches for survivors of bombings in Syria was denied entry into the US this week, where he was to receive an award recognizing his contributions to humanitarian relief.

Raed Saleh, the head of the Syria Civil Defense, was to accept the award from InterAction, an alliance of international aid agencies, at its gala dinner on Tuesday night in Washington. The dinner’s keynote speaker was Gayle Smith, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development.

However, when Saleh, who works in Syria and Turkey, arrived on Monday at Washington’s Dulles International Airport on a flight from Istanbul, the authorities said he could not enter the US.

He was told his visa had been canceled.

It was unclear whether Saleh’s name might have shown up on a database, fed by a variety of intelligence and security agencies and intended to guard against the prospect of terrorism suspects slipping into the country.

The US Department of State declined to give specifics, but a spokesman, John Kirby, said that “the US government’s system of continual vetting means that traveler records are screened against available information in real time.”

“While we can’t confirm any possible specific actions in this case, we do have the ability to immediately coordinate with our interagency partners when new information becomes available,” he added.

Saleh was put on the next flight back to Istanbul.

In a telephone interview from Istanbul on Wednesday, Saleh sought to turn the focus away from his own case to the experience of millions of Syrians who find the world’s borders closed to them.

“In any airport, the treatment we get as Syrians is different,” he said. “The way they look at us, we are suspected.”

In his case, he said, he had no intention of staying longer than 16 hours.

His group is widely known as the White Helmets for the headgear its members wear as they rush to bomb sites to rescue survivors and dig out the dead from the rubble. Syrian government supporters have criticized the group for working in some areas held by the al-Nusra Front, a terrorist organization.

However, like many internal aid groups, it says it is neutral and seeks to help civilians no matter whose territory they live in.

Joshua Landis, a Syria expert at the University of Oklahoma at Norman, called the denial of entry “a scandal.”

“The White Helmets are one of the few organizations in Syria that have been above reproach,” he said. “They have tried to observe strict neutrality to facilitate their humanitarian work and save lives. To do this they have worked alongside all sorts of militias to get to victims of the fighting.”

At the dinner on Tuesday night, InterAction staff members wore white helmets in solidarity — and posted a photograph on Twitter.

Saleh, who once made a living buying and selling electronics, became a search-and-rescue volunteer after the Syrian civil war began in 2011.

Smith praised the work of Saleh’s organization in her remarks at the dinner, without elaborating on why he had been denied entry.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2016/04/22/2003644569

what-He was told his visa had been canceled.
who-The leader of a Western-backed
when-began in 2011
where- US 

The leader of a Western-backed rescue organization that searches for survivors of bombings in Syria was denied entry into the US this week, where he was to receive an award recognizing his contributions to humanitarian relief.

keywords-headgear.database.observe.solidarity.treatment.elaborating.