© AFP 2017/ FETHI BELAID

Tunisian women, one (R) wearing a "burkini", a full-body swimsuit designed for Muslim women, swim at Ghar El Melh beach near Bizerte, north-east of the capital Tunis

by sputniknews.com/ Many beaches and swimming pools in Lebanon have reacted to increasing numbers of women arriving in "burkinis," by banning the swimming suit. More and more beach-goers in Lebanon have become subject to a restriction on wearing the "burkini," a swimming costume for conservative Muslims that covers a women's body from top to toe. Burkini sales have soared in recent years as the garment has received attention from the media and the authorities in Europe and elsewhere.     After the burkini was banned from beaches in several regions of southern France in August 2016, sales of the garment increased several times over, suppliers reported Australian designer Aheda Zanetti, who claims the trademark on the name burkini and burqini, told the BBC that online sales were up 200 percent as a result of the furor.

Recently, the owners of private beaches and swimming pools in Lebanon have ordered swimmers not to wear burkinis. One swimming pool owner told Sputnik Arabic that he banned the costume, explaining that the socially accepted clothing for females to swim in public places is a bikini. Lebanese sociologist Talal Atrisi told Sputnik that the country is home to diverse cultures which have peacefully co-existed for a long time. A burkini ban on certain beaches doesn't mean that these women are completely prevented from swimming, but rather that they are supposed to visit special women-only beaches or pools. Some owners of public pools and beaches are trying to attract a certain clientele, who might not want to see women in burkinis, the expert explained. "There is a culture with a conservative Islamic dimension which is manifested in terms of dress and tradition. In contrast, there is another culture that is also relatively conservative but influenced by the western atmosphere," Atrisi said.

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