In Berlin, the bikini top has recently become a thing of the past, but in Amsterdam women are required to wear bikinis or a bathing suit in public pools. Therefore Amsterdam follows the standard applied throughout the Netherlands. Namely: men wear swimming trunks, and women wear bikinis or a bathing suit.

But the Amsterdam City Council has the option to deviate from this. Councilwoman Ilana Roderkerk (D66) has a wish, too. You find the current regulations discriminatory. It would promote unequal treatment and restrict women’s freedom.

During the council on Wednesday, I asked municipal council member Soufiane Mbarki (sport) to allow women in this “liberal city” to swim topless if they wish. Mubaraki replied, “If there is a desire, we have to see how we are going to organize that in our free city.”

Shortly before that, the councilor said he still needed signs that the people of Amsterdam wanted, but he had not yet received them. Rooderkerk responded by saying that she had just communicated this wish to him. I think this is a clear signal. Release the nipple! ”

Drums sound from the council chamber – a sign that they can count on the support of the vast majority of council members. Mbarki replied that Roderkirk was the first to receive the signal from him. “Then we have to look more closely at how we organize this.”

In other words: the work to be done for Mobarki to make topless swimming possible in Amsterdam.

“oben ohne”

The question was asked in response to an article in lang Parole this week. In Berlin, everyone was recently allowed to swim topless in public baths after a woman complained to the Ombudsman. The author of the article wondered why this was not allowed (yet) in Amsterdam.

The changes in Germany brought about Lotte Mies, a 33-year-old woman who was thrown out of a swimming pool in the Kaulsdorf district in December when she tried to swim topless there. She had previously asked if that was allowed to her and was told “yes”. Once in the pool, the staff thought otherwise – and when she refused to put on the T-shirt – she called the police.

I decided not to stop there and turned to the Ombudsman, who ruled that the obligation to wear a bikini top stood in the way of equal treatment for men, women, and non-binary people. The Berlin City Council followed this recommendation, and allowed “Open oniSwimming has been allowed in the German capital for everyone since March.

In addition to Berlin, in cities such as Barcelona and the Canadian city of Edmonton, no one is required to wear a top in public swimming pools.

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