A woman has to leave a water playground with her son because she is sunbathing without a top. Now she is taking action against the state of Berlin for discrimination. The case could make legal history.
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Verena Mayer, Berlin
June 2021, a woman sunbathes on a lawn and watches her young son splash around in the water playground. It’s hot, she takes off her t-shirt, reads something. Everyday life in a Berlin leisure facility, it can hardly be more banal. But the scene has been moving the capital for well over a year, and that’s because of how it ended. Two security guards ask the woman to put on a bra or bikini top. Because of the bathing regulations, according to which you have to wear “commercial swimwear such as swimming trunks, swimming shorts, bikini, bathing suit or burkini”. She points to the many men who are also sitting shirtless on the meadow and refuses. There is an exchange of words, finally the police arrive and the woman has to leave the premises.