Earlier this week, an incident of blatant discrimination saw a hijabi getting denied entry to at least four different beaches in Chekka, a coastal town located in northern Lebanon.
Rawane Alaedddine, daughter of the veiled woman, told StepFeed that four out of the five beaches they visited refused to let her mother in, even on the condition of her not swimming.
Alaeddine, though not certain of the exact names of the beaches they went to, said only one of them allowed her mother to "sit in the cafeteria", away from the rest of her family.
"I was very shocked and didn't expect this to happen at all," Alaeddine told StepFeed.
"It was the first time this ever happened to us and I was surprised when I found out that it's happened before," she continued.
According to Alaeddine, there was no clear explanation for this policy and the managers made it "sound like a normal rule".
"We live in Lebanon, a country of diversity when it comes to religions, so you'd think these things wouldn't happen here," Alaeddine added.
Similar cases of discrimination have previously taken place in Lebanon
Although the majority of Lebanon's population follows the Islamic faith, the country has nonetheless witnessed such incidents before.
In June 2017, Lebanon-based hijabi Noura Al Zaim shared her story in a now-viral Facebook post, detailing how she was forced out of the water at a resort in Tripoli for wearing a burkini.
Al Zaim was vacationing with her family at Miramar Hotel Resort & Spa when her husband was requested to ask his veiled wife to get out of the water for not wearing a "real swimsuit".
At the time, the hotel manager claimed he was just applying the resort's policy, which dictates that "only swimsuits are allowed", without clarifying which kinds of swimsuits are permitted.
"I told the manager that the beach is public property and I have not caused any harm," she wrote in her Facebook post.
"I have the right, like any other Lebanese citizen, to go to the beach."
"Last weekend, we were shocked that my sister was forced out of the pool because she was wearing burkini"
That same year, another Lebanese woman, Esraa El Baba Mallah, shared a similar story she personally encountered at Jiyeh Marina Resort, where her sister was forced out of the pool for wearing a burkini.
Not only do some resorts in Lebanon ban burkinis, they also ban any other type of swimsuit apart from the traditional bikini.
"If this is the Lebanon I love and am a good citizen to, then take my passport and burn it"
Last year, Lebanese-Canadian Zeinab Saidoun also took to social media to detail a situation she ran into at Coral Beach.
She was reportedly barred from swimming in the pool for wearing a one-piece bathing suit with swimming shorts, even though she had paid the $65 to enter and access the facilities at the five-star resort.
"If this is the Lebanon I love and am a good citizen to, then take my passport and burn it. I don't want it back," Saidoun wrote at the time.
"I can't think of one reason why I have to apologize for my values and for being raised to dress the way I do."
