User post: French pool bans "burqinis" --and I think they're right!

I just read an article on Yahoo! News about a public swimming pool in France that has banned the "burquini" - a swimming costume designed to protect the modesty of Islamic women. Of course, there is plenty of outrage over the situation. One woman even called it segregation!

This is ridiculous. Segregation is keeping people separate because of factors you cannot help or change; your clothes are something about yourself you can change, and easily. A woman chooses to dress one way or another. One woman chooses a string bikini, another chooses a one-piece, and another chooses a burqini. Except that voluminous fabric is prohibited at French pools - as is uncovered hair. It's a hygiene issue.

The truth is that rules must apply to everyone. Men have to wear tight-fitting trunks. Knee-length, surfer-style trunks are banned. Everyone has to wear a swim cap. If you choose a bathing suit that falls outside the rules, you cannot go in the pool. A woman in a burqini and a man in a pair of loose trunks are both equally prohibited. No harm, no foul.

I respect a woman's desire to swim, for health or for fun. But if it's going to be a problem for you to be seen at the pool, then I guess that is your choice. Furthermore, I feel certain that there are gyms in France that are exclusively female, or have "all men" and "all women" days, when a woman who desires to go swimming can do so in a suit that is legal for her to wear while maintaining her own modesty.

What do you think? Should burqinis be banned? Or is this just segregation?