At a religiously correct beach for women only in Egypt stylish bikinis have replaced the Islamic veil.
Welcome to "La Femme", French for "The Woman", in the posh resort of Marina, where women can lounge on sunbeds, tan, join in a daily belly-dance contest or breastfeed their babies shielded by barriers of palm tree branches from the prying eyes of men.
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"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."
A growing number of Egyptian women from all walks of life have opted for strict Muslim guidelines such as wearing scarfs to cover their heads and conservative clothes with high necklines and long sleeves.
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"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.
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"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.
-- The sharia swimsuits are not practical --
At mixed beaches where women and men are allowed, many girls shield themselves by wearing so-called 'sharia' (Islamic law) swimsuits that cover them from the neck down to the ankles and look more live diving suits.
"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 that could end up on the Internet.
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, Egypt is gripped by "a sort of religious hysteria." Beaches like La Femme "reflect the general mood in the country," where some 80 percent of women today wear the veil, she said.
Egypt was once was one of the most liberal Arab countries and the first to give women the franchise in 1956.
But after an increase in religious conservatism in recent decades -- the key opposition group is now the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood that promotes sharia -- bare-headed women have become a small minority and many of them are Coptic Christians, who account for only a slice of the country's 80 million people.
Officially, however, wearing the head veil is not required, as it is in strictly conservative Muslim nations such as Saudi Arabia or Iran.
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.
Source-AFP
RAS/S
