06:25 PM
Monday 16 May 2022
Books – Nashat Ali:
The Committee on Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Information in the Senate, headed by Representative Dr. Mahmoud Musallam, called on hotels and tourist villages to not discriminate between citizens, and to announce the conditions and regulations for clothing for inmates.
This came during a discussion by the Senate Committee on Culture, Tourism, Antiquities and Information, headed by Dr. Mahmoud Muslim, the crisis of preventing the burkini from being worn inside tourist villages, in light of the proposal submitted by Senator Ahmed Al-Kenawi.
The head of the Senate’s Culture, Antiquities, Tourism and Media Committee stressed that the burkini issue is one of the issues that have been raised all the time, especially with the problem being raised from time to time.
He said during the parliamentary committee meeting today, that it is necessary to maintain health and environmental requirements in the material the burkini is made of, stressing that the original is to allow every citizen to wear what he wants.
Musallam stressed the need to respect customs and traditions, taking into account health and environmental requirements, and clarifying them to the customer through the hotel facility.
He stressed that the original principle is to allow all people to wear what they want, and the standard that should be emphasized is the health and environmental standard without affecting tourism.
Ghada Shalaby, Deputy Minister of Tourism, said that the problem of the burkini appears from time to time, and some tourist villages set conditions to preserve a specific character and shape of the village.
She added, “We follow up on complaints and no customer is rejected because of swimwear or wetsuits.”
Representative Mahmoud Muslim, head of the committee, said: “We recommend publishing the guidelines and requirements for citizens to abide by, and to know their rights and duties. We were informed that there is a circular that is circulated to everyone, and we are following up on the issue in coordination with the Ministry of Tourism, and we are monitoring the matter during the summer vacation.”
Representative Ahmed Qinawy stressed the recurrence of the burkini crisis at the beginning of the Egyptian tourist season, stressing the need to reach rules to prevent the renewal of disputes.
He said that the burkini appeared in a non-Muslim country and is a global phenomenon, and the matter does not have a religious dimension, but there must be organized and specific rules for tourist facilities, issued by the Ministry of Tourism regarding swimwear for women and men, starting with the materials and the rest of its details.
Kenawy explained that the burkini is used in 140 countries, and is prohibited in France and Germany when wearing a headscarf.
Representative Yahya Al-Fakhrani, a member of the committee, confirmed that the burkini swimsuit is more shameful than normal, because it is more attached to the body, and we do not enter into religious controversy because we want to encourage tourism.
Representative Suha Saeed, deputy representative of the committee, indicated that there is no relationship between the burkini and religion, and demanded the necessity of unifying a regulation related to a list of colors and materials suitable for health and environmental controls from unified brands.
Deputy Tarek Tohamy, a member of the committee, confirmed that every free person deteriorates what he wants, and asked about the authority of the Ministry of Tourism in setting the rules.