Zeynab Alshelh, 23, has told Australian media how she was forced to leave a beach for wearing the much controversial burkini.
Channel 7 broadcast footage that shows locals threatening her with police action unless she vacates the beach. This is despite the burkini ban being overruled by higher courts. The burkini has stirred controversy all across France with multiple towns, particularly those around the French Riviera attempting to ban the swimming item over grounds that is a “political act, a militant act.”
Zeynab had originally travelled from Australia to France in order to stand alongside fellow muslims in solidarity. The medical student said her and her family just wanted “help these girls just live a normal life.”
She told BBC’s Newsday that at the Villeneuve-Loubet beach, “the locals decided they didn’t want us there so they told us to leave, and if we didn’t leave they would call the cops.”
They eventually agreed to leave, not wanting to escalate the situation. Regarding the burkini, she added:
“It is a symbol of my faith, it is a symbol of my religion, it is a symbol of Islam and to go out there and wear the hijab, it helps people focus on what’s inside rather than what’s on the outside.”
