Belgian Politicians Clash Over Burkini Policy and Women-Only Hours at New Brussels Pool

The authorization of the burkini and the establishment of time slots (every Saturday between 11 a.m. and noon) for women in the new temporary pool in Anderlecht are creating tensions. "Burkini allowed and hours reserved for women. The communitarian madness continues," commented on Twitter Georges-Louis Bouchez, a Belgian senator and president of the Mouvement Réformateur (MR). He protested against the policy of the "Flow", the first outdoor swimming pool in the Brussels region for about forty years, reports Le Muslim Post.

If "we give a finger, they (the Muslims) take an arm," said former Federal Secretary of State for the Public Service and the Modernization of Public Services, Hendrik Frank Bogaert, a member of the Flemish Christian Democratic party CD&V. These remarks provoked a reaction from his party’s office.

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"We are not in favor of separate swimming hours based on belief, but that is not the purpose of this separate hour either. It is really regrettable that such a beautiful initiative from the associative world - finally an outdoor swimming pool for the Brussels youth - is diverted into a polarized debate," the party members wanted to clarify.

The MR intends to turn to the Brussels Parliament and the federal government. "Our values are being undermined with the ignorant complicity of some," Bouchez said. The party calls on the Secretary of State for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity, Sarah Schlitz, to intervene.