“National No Bra Day” has come early for women in Germany after the city of Berlin announced that all visitors to Berlin’s pools, including women and those who identify as non-binary, are permitted to go topless.
According to CNN Reports, Berlin authorities agreed that women can now swim topless in the city’s public pools if they choose to, just as men can.
This move comes after a female swimmer lodged a complaint with the city’s ombudsman’s office at the Senate Department for Justice, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination after she was prevented from attending one of the city’s pools without covering her chest in December 2022.
Authorities agreed that the woman had been a victim of discrimination and last week made the call to allow visitors at its public pools to go topless.
In a statement released by Berlin’s state government on Thursday, the government said:
“As a result of a successful discrimination complaint, the Berlin bathing establishments will in future apply their house and bathing regulations in a gender-equitable manner.”
CNN reports that the head of the ombudsman’s office, Dr Doris Liebscher, hailed the move as a step forward for gender equality in the city.
“The ombudsman very much welcomes the decision of the bathing establishments because it creates equal rights for all Berliners, whether male, female or non-binary and because it also creates legal certainty for the staff in the bathing establishments,” said Dr Liebscher.
The move has also been hailed as a step forward for gender equality in the German capital and a continuation of Germany’s love of Freikoerperkultur or ‘free body culture’.
Read the latest issue of IOL Travel digital magazine here.