Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The application of market principles to an age old problem

I am rather impressed with this.

The problem, how should devout Muslim girls swim, given the modesty clothing rules.

The answer provided by an Australian firm Ahiida is the Burqini.


As they say on their website,

"All eyes are on the appearance of Muslim women in sports. Their appearance should be modest and at the same time it should reflect a professional sporty appearance with pride. By providing the appropriate clothing for the Muslim woman, who complies with religious, cultural and sports obligation, we are helping to bring out the best in Muslim woman, to prove that a Muslim woman is a role model to other women in the world, not an oppressed, no name, and no face being. With Ahiida sportswear, we can now compete with confidence".


This fine piece of swimware is a,

"Modest-Fit design covers the whole body except face, hands and feet. The Hijood™ Top...Loose fitted with length to knee area. Boot-leg pant".

Its specifications are impressive too,

"100% Polyester, 50+ UV protected, Chlorine Resistant, Water Repellent, Low Water Absorbency and Very Quick Drying".

2 comments:

The Aunt said...

Made of the same stuff as my swimmers.

Instead of bemoaning the Burqini, we should encourage progress that allows strictly Moslem women to be able to GO swimming at all. Besides, 100 years ago bathers off Weymouth were wearing the same, but with flounces as well, which is equally ridiculous given that the Cretans had invented the bikini thousands of years before Christ.

Gawain Towler said...

Bemoan, no indeed, I applaud. For once I write without irony or cynicism, I really do think it is a great idea.

The great change of course was the invention of jersey, sometime in the tewnties that allowed the safe carriage of independantly moving body parts in a small and, dare I say it, revealing piece of fabric. The rest is fashion history.

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