Authorities frown on topless bathing

The authorities won’t look kindly on women tanning or swimming topless at public bathing facilities this summer. The Citizen reports that gender equality has not stretched to all leisure activities, just yet. This, despite the expected precedent that a Berlin municipal ruling during European summer this year was expected to set. This after a bather took the council to court to assert her right to shed her top just like men can. She came out on top, and restrictions on female swimming kit was lifted in the city. ‘Our bylaws make it clear that inappropriate swimwear is not acceptable in the public facilities,’ said Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dhlamini. ‘These are public facilities that attract all members of society and as a measure of respect and protecting each other, the behaviour must be appropriate at all times. That is why we have laws that are formulated in this regard,.’ Nevertheless, there are a handful of places where women can drop their tops: Sandy Bay in Cape Town, Mpenjati beach on the KZN south coast, Secrets Beach in the Eastern Cape, and the Umhlanga Lagoon. The German ruling in February affirmed that women have the right to swim topless at public pools, just like men, and found that a policy of requiring women to wear tops was discriminatory and violated the German Constitution’s guarantee of gender equality.

Full report in The Citizen