Does This Burqa Make Me Look Fat?

Thu, Jan 11, 2007 at 10:49:43 am PST

In New Zealand, another Islamic demand that the West accommodate misogynistic practices, accompanied by a claim of victimhood: Muslim women seek their own swimming pools. (Hat tip: warbicycle.)

There are calls for special pool facilities to be set up for Muslim women so they can swim without compromising their religious beliefs.

Naaz Shah of Christchurch said many Muslim women had no opportunities to exercise and were putting on weight as a result, the Press newspaper reported today.

“They become medically unfit. Their health is affected and they’re quite depressed,” she said.

Entrepreneurs, sensing opportunity, have moved quickly to fill the demand for oppressive women’s swimming garb:

An Australian designer, Aheda Zanetti, has been swamped with worldwide interest in a modest bathing costume designed for Muslim women.

The burqini covers everything except hands and feet, and includes a hijood, named after the traditional Muslim hijab to cover the head.

UPDATE at 1/11/07 11:18:47 am:

Behold: the burqini. (Hat tip: Killgore Trout.)