Saudi Woman Wants Separate Beaches For Women

Lina Almaeena is a Saudi woman who founded the Jeddah United basketball team. She also happens to be its captain. Pretty progressive for a woman living in a country that frowns on female athletes. But she also wants separate beaches for women. In an opinion piece on Al Arabiya, Almaeena claims that a disproportionate amount of women drown in the Kingdom- usually 18 to 28 year-old women, and 70% of those drownings occur at night during the holidays. Why? Because they don't want men staring at their bodies, even though they make burqinis that they could easily wear.

According to Khaled al-Arkoubi, a spokesperson for the border guards:

“when swimming, some women hit rocks due to the blurry vision at night. Some are attacked by sea animals or suffer nausea and fainting. Moreover, most of women swim in their abayas (black cloak traditionally worn by women in the Gulf) and veils which are not appropriate for swimming and impede the body movement in water. The cloak might get wrapped around her body which might suffocate her and prevent her from screaming and calling for help. Thus, women may drown or even die. And since these incidents happen at night, it is difficult to spot them.”

So, Almaeena proposes this:

..we should find solutions to protect them and give them a chance to benefit from the beauty of nature that God has bestowed on us.

Since we have separated men from women in education facilities, banks and restaurants, why don’t we do the same with beaches? Why don’t we give women the chance to swim by appointing female lifeguards and supervisors? Why don’t we organize swimming lessons so that women can teach their children how to swim while their husbands are at work?

If we undertake these measures, we would create a new sector for employment and put at the hands of women the swimming technique that could help them survive in certain conditions (like the Jeddah floods for example). At the same time we would sprinkle happiness on the souls of our girls and women so that happiness does not become the privilege of those who can afford buying or renting a beach cabin or chalet.

Just like any other women, I wish I could swim in women-only beaches. Women-only beaches are likely to boost local tourism and reduce the reliance on foreign touristic destinations that are pulling millions of riyals per year outside of the Kingdom. All of this can be done if we invest in women-oriented sectors.

Why don't they just create a separate city for all Muslim women who want to be segregated from the male population? Or maybe move to a different planet. Oh wait, women need men to procreate.  If God had wanted men and women to be segregated He would have created just males or females and the ability to bear children without the need for someone of the opposite sex.

Joke of the day: Why France Banned The Burqa

This gem is in French, but I think you can get the gist of it.

As most should know by now, France banned the burqa in public, and driving safety was one of the issues. Enjoy!

Muslim Burqini-clad Women In Amsterdam Want Men Banned From The Pool

The latest inanity comes out of Amsterdam where Muslim burqini-clad women have demanded that men be banned while they swim in Zuiderbad pool, even though every ounce of their bodies are covered with swaths of cloth, save their hands, feet and faces. Now I realize most Muslim women are into the extreme modesty thing, because men can't control themselves and might lust after them, but these Islamic "swim suits" are very loose fitting and pretty darn ridiculous looking so there would be no way in hell they would attract unwanted attention. But, it seems they would feel uncomfortable with men looking at the few inches of exposed flesh so they've made these ridiculous demands. The silly thing is, even with Burqas, hands are exposed. Next they'll be fashioning a burqini that has gloves, socks and a mask attached.

Thankfully, Zuiderbad employees and the mayor aren't caving into their demands, at least not yet.

Egbert de Vries, mayor of the Oud-Zuid district, says it's nonsense to bar
all men from the pool for this reason.But he says that he can see having women's hour for one or two hours a week. For example, there's naked swimming an hour a week, and that is open only for men.

Apparently, they already have women's only swimming class every week, so why don't they join that one. Or, better yet, if they want freedom to swim whenever they want, how about the Muslim community building a swimming pool of their own. Although some bikinis verge on the obscene, burqinis in their own way are as well.

Hat tip Muslims Against Sharia via Islam In Europe