Bikini sparks anger in Lebanon

While enjoying the sunlight on a beach in Sidon (aka Saida in Arabic) as she used to do for five years, a Lebanese woman was assaulted for wearing a bikini on the beach, an incident that stirred the anger of dozens of Lebanese, especially women.

The incident took place when Lebanese activist Maysa Hanouni, along with her husband, went to a popular beach in Sidon to enjoy the sun and swim, and a group of people with a sheikh asked them to leave the beach due to her “indecent” swimwear that “contradicts the values of the city.”

In comments to local media, Hanouni added that she and her husband were assaulted by the group and forced to leave the beach in the end. “This is a very depressing matter. It wasn’t acceptable at all. Our demands were very simple. This is my right and my freedom,” she told Daraj Media on May 17.

Protest vs counter-protest

In reaction to the incident, a pro-bikini protest was staged by dozens of people, especially women, on May 21 near the beach, defending their right to freedom to wear what they choose and chanting slogans against masculine dominance, including the chant “Revolting against masculine authority.”

However, a counter-protest was staged by a number of sheikhs and conservative people saying that the city has “an Islamic identity and should be respected by those who are living in it,” according to videos of the protest that circulated on social media. “Saida is a moral city,” the protesters were chanting.

According to the population data that was published during the 2009 election, Muslims constitute 84 percent of the population. 

The protest was not only along the beach but also on social media, as a debate was sparked between supporters and opponents of the bikini.

‘Decent clothes required’

In a way to prevent any confrontation between the two protests, the head of Sidon Municipality, Muhammad Al-Saudi, announced in a statement that the municipality has not yet opened the activities of the popular beach. Those who want to enter the public beach should obtain permission from the authorities, the statement added.

The municipality also put a sign at the beach reminding beachgoers of their instructions, which include abiding by wearing decent clothing and banning alcoholic beverages.

Officials defending freedom of swimwear

However, other government officials see that the freedom of swimwear is a matter of freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution. 

“It is unfortunate that the whole world is heading towards openness and promoting freedom of belief, while we find ourselves in Lebanon lurking in some corners of isolation and extremism,” Caretaker Minister of Information Ziad Makary was quoted as saying by the Lebanese News Agency (NNA) on May 22.

Meanwhile, the head of the “Kulluna Li Beirut” gathering, Muhammad Choucair, said, “Attempts to incite and mobilize for a protest demonstration against the dress code of beachgoers is contrary to the law and constitutes an infringement on public liberties, especially since the beach is the property of the general public of all groups and not the property of a specific group,” NNA reported on May 21.