Women in Berlin, Germany will be allowed to go to public swimming pools topless following a ruling by the City’s state government on Thursday.
The directive which comes after a Berlin woman filed a discriminatory complaint after being denied access to sunbathe topless, means that everyone, men and women alike, will be allowed to swim without covering their torsos.
The Berlin senate for justice, diversity, and anti-discrimination in a statement said that the unidentified woman called for equality for all gender after which Berlin’s swimming pool operator, the Berliner Bäderbetriebe (BBB) decided to change its clothing rules.
“The ombudsperson’s office very much welcomes the decision of the Baederbetriebe, because it establishes equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female, or non-binary, and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff at the Baederbetriebe,” said Doris Liebscher, the head of the ombudsperson’s office according to the Washington Post.
“Now it is important that the regulation is applied consistently and that no more expulsions or house bans are issued.”
In the past, women who attempted to go to public beaches were either asked to cover themselves up or to leave the pools.
Göttingen in Lower Saxony and Siegen in North Rhine Westphalia allowed women to swim topless last year.
The European country however allows its citizens to frolic in lakes, beaches, and parks while naked, something which has previously surprised many of its foreign visitors.
In Germany, nudism is known as Freikoerperkultur (FKK), Free Body Culture.
