Tunisia: Fewer bikinis, more veils on public beaches Fearing Salafists' insults, women prefer turist resorts

(ANSAMed) - TUNIS, JULY 11 - Fewer women go to the beach wearing bikinis now than during the previous regime, because they are increasingly being harassed by salafists.



''Ben Ali was a tyrant, he fleeced the country,'' 22-year-old Halim told ANSAMed. ''But at least back then we could be ourselves, like European people our age.'' Women who go to the beach wearing bikinis are being increasing insulted, beaten or otherwise harassed, reportedly by Islamic fundamentalist men. Police and soldiers are patrolling the public beaches in an effort to protect the women. More and more women are going to the public beach, and even bathing, covered from head to toe, while women who reject totally covering their bodies are increasingly going to private clubs or tourist holiday resorts, where the majority of the clientele is foreign. (ANSAMed).



