Muslim shop ends mixed sex ban
Men and women were only allowed to shop on different days in Bordeaux store
MUSLIM owners of a Bordeaux general store have been forced to take down a sign saying men and women should shop on different days to “avoid temptation”.
Jean-Baptiste Michalon, a recent convert to Islam, had put up the handwritten sign saying “brothers” were welcome Monday to Friday while “sisters” were welcome at the weekend.
Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppé reacted saying such discrimination was against republican values of equality and diversity. He said it was against the law and punishable with jail or a fine.
The imam of Bordeaux Tareq Oubrou agreed, telling Sud-Ouest “the market was mixed even in the days of the prophet [Mohamed]. It seems a bit odd in a world where diversity is an established culture."
Mr Michalon said people had misunderstood his intentions. His store sold everything from groceries to mobile phones and clothing, female shoppers preferred to try on items when there were no men in the shop. The sign showed the days they could be served by a woman.
The shop, called De l'Orient à l'Occident, is in the popular Saint-Michel area of Bordeaux, and Sud-Ouest reported that a male customer had complained of being shown the door by the male shopkeeper and told that “this day was reserved for women”.
Polémique autour d'une épicerie musulmane à Bordeaux : Juppé s'en mêle http://t.co/VMH8A2OyJy pic.twitter.com/iFg6NlsoWc— Sud Ouest (@sudouest) June 22, 2015
Mr Michalon’s wife, Soumaya, said that the ban was because “in religion mixing of the sexes was banned to avoid temptation”.
A recent convert to Islam, she wears a body-covering jilbab and told the paper "I'm not fundamentalist, there is nothing extreme. I do it for God. At home, I am beautiful, I am female. Outside, I am modest.”
She said that before she started wearing the veil “I was a slave of people's eyes. Now, it's my choice not to show my body.”
A women neighbour told the paper she was Moroccan and a practising Muslim but had never seen this before, even in Morocco. “Sexes are kept separate at the mosque, that’s all. It’s a bizarre reading of the Koran; the Koran is not discriminatory.”
If discrimination charges are brought Mr Michalon could face three years’ jail and a €45,000 fine.
