By Bongiwe Zwane-Maseko
Women’s rights in Germany have received a boost following a decision to allow them to show their chest as man do at public swimming pools.
CNN reports that women can now swim topless in Berlin’s public pools. As well as being hailed as a step forward for gender equality in the German capital, the measure introduced this week is symptomatic of Germany’s love of Freikoerperkultur – literally translated as ‘free body culture’ – which has its roots in the late 19th century.
Berlin’s authorities took action after a female swimmer said she was prevented from attending one of the city’s pools without covering her chest in December 2022.
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The woman complained with the city’s ombudsman’s office at the Senate Department for Justice, Diversity, and Anti-Discrimination.
Authorities agreed that the woman had been a victim of discrimination and this week said that all visitors to Berlin’s pools, including women and those who identify as non-binary, are permitted to go topless.
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It follows a similar incident at a Berlin water park in the summer of 2021. French woman Gabrielle Lebreton sought financial compensation from the city after security guards ordered her to leave the premise when she refused to cover up her breasts.
She was with her five-year-old son when the incident happened. Speaking to the German newspaper Die Zeit at the time about why she believed it was gender discrimination, she said: “For me — and I teach
this to my son — no, there is no such difference. For both men and women, the breast is a secondary sexual characteristic but men have the freedom to remove their clothes when it is hot and women do not.”
