Egyptian ministry of tourism has placed a ban against hotels enforcing a ban on the burkini

WTTEN-The Egyptian ministry of tourism has placed a ban against hotels enforcing a ban on the burkini. 

The new order allows all women to wear what they want at the poolside – ending a debate that has continued in Egyptian society for at least a year.

“The ministry bans all hotels from preventing Hijab-wearers from entering swimming pools in costumes that cover the entirety of their bodies,” read the order, signed by the deputy director of the Egyptian Hotel Association, Sameh al-Jaraf.

The vast majority of women in the Muslim-majority country wear the Hijab and thereforechoose to wear the Burkiniout of religious piety – however some high-end hotels have banned the Burkini on fashion grounds

Egyptian Facebook users have commented on a culture in some private pools and hotels where the burkini is seen as ‘regressive’ and unfashionable in the eyes of high-society.

The issue came to a head in August 2016 after a group of women filmed a hotel manager mocking a woman in a burkini.

“How can you swim in the pool with this thing on? Go swim with it anywhere else,” he said.

The video inspired thousands of views and sparked debate on social media over the treatment of women who wear burkinis in Egypt.