MARINA: Islamic hymns fade out giving way to Arabic pop music as women remove their veils to reveal bikinis or one-piece swimsuits at a women’s only beach in Egypt.
Welcome to La Femme, French for the woman, in the posh resort of Marina, where women can lounge on sunbeds, tan and join in a daily belly-dance contest shielded by barriers of palm tree branches from the prying eyes of men.
The branches even stretch into the Mediterranean to give maximum shelter to the women.
Sometimes I turn around and look behind to make sure there are no men. And, thank God, there aren t any, said Safa, a Cairo resident in her 60s, who enjoys the privacy of La Femme beach club.
It is haram (forbidden in Islam) to strut around in front of men in a swimsuit, she said, as she basked in the sun. It is an excellent idea to have a beach reserved for women only.
Most of the women at the beach are upper-class like Safa, who can afford to dish out $14 (?9) on weekdays and $16 on the weekend for the privilege of entering the gated beach club to preserve their modesty.
Marwa is among the growing number of Egyptian women are choosing to don the veil.
Being a veiled woman I have no other option but to go to a women only beach, she said as she slips a short yellow beach dress over her swimsuit.
A few seats away Sara, 20, is relaxing in a bikini. It is wonderful here. We don t have to put up with the prying eyes of men. But on the mixed beaches it is unbearable, said Sara.
At most other beaches where women and men are allowed, many girls who are veiled wear the so-called Sharia swimsuits, which cover them from the neck down to the ankles.
The Sharia swimsuits are not practical, said Marwa, who says she is as happy as a fish in water at La Femme, where she feels she can be herself.
The only moment of concern for Marwa is when young men riding jet skis try to inch their way closer to the coast to sneak a view of the women.
To ensure the women s “sanctity, guards at the entrance to the club search all the beach bags to keep out any cameras that could be used to take pictures of bikini-clad bathers.
La Femme is not the sole women-only beach to make a brisk business in Egypt. The first of its kind, Yachmak, opened in 2004.
At the time, its founder Walid Mustafa told reporters: At the end of the day we belong to a conservative society. We cannot forget that. We need to respond to the needs of the community.
In the view of sociologist Dalal Al-Bizri, beaches like La Femme reflect the general mood in the country, where some 80 percent of women today wear the veil.
Many women themselves say they seek out segregated beaches like La Femme out of religious considerations, but they have their critics. A security guard posted a few yards outside the beach club argued that such places catering to the whims of women were just another form of decadence.
A motorist agreed. These women should fear God, not men, he said, asking why they could not keep the belly-dancing for home and family events. -AFP
