An increasing number of swimming pools in Sweden are offering gender-segregated hours in order to encourage more women to visit.

The rise in women-only swimming hours has been linked to the growing Muslim population in Sweden, which has sparked fierce debate and has been criticized by the government.

Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman has launched an investigation into whether the women-only hours is violating equality law by discriminating against men.

Criticised: More public swimming pools in Sweden are offering 'women-only' hours, an increase which has been linked to the growing Muslim population in the country in recent years (stock image)

Women-only hours at public swimming pools is not a new phenomenon in Sweden and has been around for decades, but this is the first time it has been linked to the rising Muslim population.

Its has been advocated as a safe space for girls and women who may not be comfortable with showing their bodies in swimwear, or are of conservative beliefs rooted in a number of different religions, including Islam.

Public pools in a number of Stockholm suburbs have been offering gender-segregated swimming hours since the late 90s, however women-only access is now believed to increase in popularity as a result of the rise in immigration.

It is gender-segregation for religious reasons which has sparked the current debate, with Sweden's Minister for Democracy slamming the initiative last month.

'To claim in the name of religion that you have the right that different parts of society - for example swimming pools, buses and trains - should adapt to your right to believe in what you wish, that is taking things too far,' Alice Bah Kuhnke told SVT last month.

Anti-men: Sweden's Discrimination Ombudsman has launched an investigation into whether the women-only hours at swimming pools is violating equality law by discriminating against men

She added that she believes that rules that women and men should swim together in public swimming pools in Sweden is 'a victory after many years and generations of gender-equality struggle'.

In the wake of the recent debate, the occurrence of women-only hours at swimming pools has been reported to the Swedish government's Discrimination Ombudsman.

An investigation has been launched to clarify whether gender-segregated hours at swimming pools are in agreement with Swedish discrimination law.

'We follow the debate and the news feeds and feel that there is a need to clarify this,' Per Holfve, Discrimination Ombudsman administrator told Mitti.se last week.

'The basic rule of the law is that gender discrimination is forbidden, but if there is a justified means, there can be exceptions made in an appropriate way.'