The leadership of the German capital is embarrassingly careful about equality.

According to the new rules, everyone is now allowed to swim topless in Berlin's swimming pools and spas. The measure was introduced following a successful anti-discrimination complaint filed in 2022 by a 33-year-old woman who complained after being asked to leave a swimming pool for not covering her breasts.

In her complaint, the woman argued that the pool's policy did not include any gender requirements and only required customers to wear "regular swimwear."

Berlin's anti-discrimination ombudsman Doris Liebscher welcomed the measure as a step towards equal rights. He told me that

"the new regulations provide equal rights for male, female or non-binary Berlin residents and create legal certainty for pool staff".

According to a statement from the city government, Berlin's spas will apply bathing rules in a gender-neutral manner. Adding that

"topless swimming must henceforth be possible for all women or persons with breasts perceived as feminine in the city's public indoor and outdoor swimming pools".

However, the new rules do not mean that women in Berlin must swim topless, as they can still cover their breasts if they wish.

Berlin is not the first German city to introduce such rules. The city of Siegen in the northwestern state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Göttingen in the neighboring state of Lower Saxony did so in 2022, with the state capital Hannover following suit late last year.

So far, there has been no news about what the Muslim guests of the swimming pools say about the monokini in practice.

Mandarin

Featured image: Annette Riedl/dpa