Why don't I think rock stars will take up that old slogan this time?
Swim centre bars two-year-old girl because she isn't Muslim
When Lee Williams saw a parent-and-toddler session advertised at his local pool, he thought it was the perfect chance to teach his young daughter to swim.Not an isolated event.
Arriving at the leisure centre already in her swimming costume, two-year-old Darby was desperate to get into the water.
But she was left in tears when staff said they were not allowed in the pool because the session was for Muslim women and their children only.
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According to Islam, women are forbidden from exposing their bodies to any man but their husband.
The incident is the latest in a series of rows between local authorities and the public over swimming lessons for ethnic minority groups.
In December last year, Croydon Council in South London came under fire for running Muslim-only sessions at one of its leisure centres.
Non-Muslim members of Thornton Heath leisure centre were angry that they could not swim during the Muslim-only sessions on Saturdays and Sundays unless they obeyed the strict dress code.
For men, this involved wearing shorts which kept the navel hidden and were extended below the knee, while women bathers had to wear a swimming costume which covered their body from the neck down to the ankle.
Similarly, Wolverhampton Council and South Lanarkshire local authority have also been criticised for operating women-only swimming for Muslims.
Strangers in their own country.
