German court rules Muslim girls must join swim classes.
A German court ruled on Wednesday that Muslim girls must take part in school swimming lessons with boys, in a landmark decision that touches on the sensitive relationship between religion and the state.
The decision by Germany’s top court for public and administrative disputes signals that the state’s constitutional obligation to educate children can take precedence over customs and practices linked to an individual’s religious beliefs.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-right government have sought dialogue with the country’s roughly four-millions Muslims, but have also said they must make an effort to integrate and learn German.
The Court has made a very good decision to make immigrants integrated to German society. Europe must not have sharia laws that discriminate against women. Germany, the country of equality must not accept to have a new set of laws or culture that don’t ensure equality and parity of women. If girls do not want to wear bikini, they can wear funny burkini, but they must swim. Germany is a secular state, no religious prejudices are allowed in the public schools. All students, regardless of their gender and religion, have to participate in the school curriculum.
When girls say they don’t want to swim in a pool where boys swim, they are not girls, they are just brainwashed beings with no thinking mind. They are their conservative religious parents or their madrasa teachers.
Sex segregation is a harmful notion that reinforces a sexual hierarchy in society. No one should accept sex segregation in the name of religions that are based on fables and ancient mythology.
Sorry, but you’re dead wrong here.
Germany has Christian education as an obligartory subject in schools for children whose parents do not opt out. The new schoolyear started with a christian service and I already hate how my daughter is othered by the fact that she does not take part in those activities. Please, don’t sing the praise of a country with big christian privilege, where bishos are regularly asked to sit on ethics comissions that make proposals for the government.
No, again. Those girls may be wrong, but to deny their own agency in making bad choices and holding very patriarchal ideas isn’t much better than to claim that they cannot make their own decisions and therefore must have a male guardian. From all I’ve heard the girl argued her own case intelligently and passionately. I agree with the court’s decision, but let’s give her credit for having her own opinion as much as we disagree with it.
When I was writing those lines, I knew someone would say, ‘Germany is not a secular state’. I probably meant Germany was more secular than Muslim countries! I knew a German humanist organization of 60,000 members that sent atheist teachers to thousands of public schools to teach atheism and humanism including some basic information about all world religions. They were paid by the government. It was in mid’90s.
Girls make their own decision about veils. But most of the times they wear veils because since their childhood they have been indoctrinated by their family members to follow Islamic rules. They can have female misogynist guardians who believe in patriarchy.
Women having an independent mind are unfortunately rare.
“More secular than muslim countries” isn’t that high a bar, don’t you think?
I’d like a link for that, please.
I was a highschool student in Germany in the mid 90’s and I never heard of this. And even if you remember correctly, that hardly counters 2 hours of religious teaching every week every year.
It doesn’t change the fact that our hospitals are sold out to catholic companies, denying all non-christians healthcare workers employment and destroying women’s access to reproductive health, sending away rape victims because they might want Plan B.
this is also Germany, country of equality. Pure and unadltered racism against everybody who isn’t a blonde Aryan woman.
Secular states are not always considered as non-religious states. Many countries that respect all religions equally considered secular. Even the countries that have personal laws (marriage, divorce, inheritance etc) that based on religion called secular.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanistischer_Verband_Deutschlands
I lived in Berlin and Munich in 1995-1996. I joined the celebration of 14-year-old boys and girls’
confirmation in a humanist way. I spoke to the crowd of about 3000 people. I even attended the funeral that was done humanistically. Those were wonderful days. I didn’t find about their activities in details on the net. Probably they are all in German.
Misogyny, racism, religionism are everywhere. But we praise those countries that removed most of these problems.
You know I know most of those things, organisations, I once was one of those 14 year old kids who had her Jugendweihe and most funerals I’ve ever been to were humanist ones, my dad is regularly the speaker at humanist funerals in our region. Those are no surprises to me, they are the things I grew up with. And I grew also up with the othering and discrimination of non-christians by the public school system. I see hoe christianity is forced down our throats at every single occasion, especially now that I have a kid who started school.
If you think that this is the reality in Germany you’re grossly mistaken. I don’t know how well twitter can be translated or how well you speak German, but I suggest you look at the hashtags #Aufschrei and #schauhin, the former being about everyday sexism in Germany, the later about everyday racism.
I just need to walk out of the wrong shop and suddenly people feel free to call me a Turkish bitch. My sister was harassed and bullied at work for being an atheist until she fell into depression. That’s the reality in Germany. Have you noticed the NSU-scandal? You lived in Munich, do you remember the terrorist attack on the Oktoberfest?
funny burkini is the one displayed in the pics..?? Funny..Indeed..!!
WOW !! Great news indeed……… Germany the land of Equality has taken a very Smart, Bold and ‘Modern’ step without any gender biasness. School kids will be benefited very much..
If its good for girls, then I must say, I was a dumbo in the matter of Swimming, but just a few months ago I have learnt it…… believe me ! its really an awesome feeling to swim & yes ! ofcourse, a radical gym to fit your body.
In the meantime all over the US we can find public recreation centers that now have segregated swimming pools or segregated swimming hours in order to promote the cult and religion of feminism, and Islam, and “we” call that good and inclusive.
This was a great article Taslima, thank you so much for standing up for the freedom of these girls to not be subject to Patriarchy.
It’s really strange to me to see women wearing full clothing while swimming. Ridiculously impractical.
Of course, forcing integration will make the ridiculous impracticality of their rules much more obvious to them.
it’s very good…………..it is right they are human.
Muslim girls must take part in school swimming lessons with boys- it is of course a unique ruling of a German court. Every secular state should follow this rule. Most of the girls want to play with the boys, but they are not allowed. All the religions including Islam are against their will and freedom and have snatched their every right and freedom in the name of God. Now in the Muslim states and Muslim society such poor and backward practices remained almost unchanged. So, the above ruling was very necessary, it will help the Muslim society in the non-Muslim countries to go forward.
A good decision compared to the other possible alternative, that she would be granted an exemption. However, I think the court should have said “she has to swim, and in the same type of swimwear as the other girls”. After all, there are more people in Germany who regularly swim nude than there are Muslims in Germany, and certainly more than there are Muslims who wear burkinis (a small minority), but I doubt pupils would be allowed to swim nude in swimming lessons at school, even if they do so regularly otherwise. Why not? Because everyone must wear the regular swimwear. Except Muslims who object. So, the decision goes in the right direction, but doesn’t go far enough.
Also in the news is that members of the Christian fundamentalist sect “Zwölf Stämme” (twelve tribes) are in court because an undercover journalist filmed ritual beatings of children etc. The state came in and took the children away by force. Bravo!
Do you care to tell the girls wether they’re allowed to wear a swimsuit or must they wear a bikini? And if yes, how much fabric is the bikini allowed to have?
The general German laws say how little you’re allowed to wear. there’s no limit to how much you’re allowed to wear so the ruling is totally within the normal application of laws. As long as there is no safety concern involved your idea to tell them that they must not cover more than X area of their bodies is just as bad as those who tell them they must cover at least Y area of their bodies.
Both of you want to control their bodies and dress. Women and their bodies are objects for you to write your agenda onto, not people.
Giliell, I am really sad to know that you and your sister were harassed. I know there are racists in Germany, and I also know that there are people who fight racism.
Thank you.
I’m actually “lilly white”, but long black hair and brown eyes were all it took. I’m not getting shit 24/7, I’m especially not getting the shit muslim women who, for whatever reason wear a headscarf get.
The crisis is that human race has been dissected into in-numerable religion and creed across the globe except as a human race. The effort and struggle is to bring all into one single humane umbrella.
Ir respective of the better and best civic system and balanced laws, still the human race in developed first world countries have not transformed their hearts to become secular themselves. The crisis here is that the society around promotes and encourages various festivals, rituals around some religious module, which becomes a celebration where people get together and get into the trance of the festival, forgetting the essence of the origin of the festival the person is taking a part in. Indirectly the root cause gets established. Example, a valentine day : the world gets together to celebrate love. Apparently nothing wrong in it. But the root cause gets strongly rooted and it becomes difficult to debate at a later date to mention that love NEVER originated from or was ever dependent on any religious person called valentine. The better civic amenities in developed countries have just made living better and with less hassels than the developing and under developed countries. The human beings inherent status did not change. That is why you are called a Turkish xyz, and your sister harassed.
Finally, with due regards, atheist also need to know how to carry himself / herself against the misogynist world. I live in India, a country full of religious fanatism needless to describe more. I preach and practice atheism in life. I do not have a family name, my passport name is only ‘ujjal’. I did not face any harrasment. I do not contribute any donations in any local religious festivals where is an obvious practice accross. No one threatened me or my family. In my workplace I never participate in any religious function where it is again an obvious custom to start everything good with a prayer and religious custom. I was never rebuked by my boss for that. I live together with my mother also staying with me last 14 years. I did not loose any family member and neighbour and friends. From our family we donated the cadaver of my father and his elder brother who was a bachelor to a local hospital. The hindu custom ( my famili’s religious background ) is to burn the dead and not doing that is a tremendous evil for the family and society and ofcourse the religion. On the contrary everyone looked up to us for the donation. Yes they did not follow, or could not follow in their family. I am a simple ordinary citizen. Sorry for the long description with no intention to beat my drum. but to mention that atheist also should know how to conduct his/her life to stand straight against the religious rubbish.
I work in Germany and I have to second Giliell on what she says, at least as far as things are run in Bavaria. I do not have that much experience as she does, but what little I have conforms with hers. You are either catholic or lutheran around here, and if you are not, you have to pretend to be. I am lucky in this regard, because as Czech I am already considered as a somewhat oddity, so I get some slack where others would not.
All my coleagues have their children in church-run Kindergartens, because there are none other to choose from. All my coleagues have children attending religious classes, because otherwise they would be bullied. All my coleagues have children who attend church for the same reason, even when parents themselves are (privately, if not publicly) non-believers. Most of my coleaguse pay church tax in order not to stick out.
The only people who dare to openly claim to be atheists and get away with it are those who come to work here from Czech republic and former East Germany. My bavarian coleague confined his disbelief only to me (as far as I know), towards his neigbours he is still a somewhat lukewarm lutheran.
I do not dare to say how many people are forced to live such double-life, bu I know for sure that the set is not of zero-size and church has still wery strong foothold on public life in Germany.
Which let me wonder, how much of this ruling is actually due to trying to upheld secular values and how much of it is sheer racism, christian superiority and islamophobia (I hate that word, but it has some limited use). Good result can be achieved for wrong reasons, after all.
Hi can I have your permission to use the picture of the woman in the burkini for a project on encouraging swimming for all? Thanks for your prompt reply.