(CNN)As several politicians across Europe try to outlaw outfits worn by some Muslim women, one businessman is fighting back with his checkbook.
Rachid Nekkaz, a wealthy Algerian entrepreneur and human rights activist, has stepped up to the plate to pay the penalty for any Muslim woman who is fined in France for wearing the burkini, a full-length swimsuit that covers the whole body except for the face, hands and feet.
"I decided to pay for all the fines of women who wear the burkini in order to guarantee their freedom of wearing these clothes, and most of all, to neutralize the application on the ground of this oppressive and unfair law," Nekkaz said.
Bans on burqas and burkinis
"My duty is to remind great European democracies that what made these great democracies is the respect of fundamental freedoms," Nekkaz said.
"Freedoms that have been taken away from women who have opted to wear the traditional Islamic dress." said Nekkaz, who is married to a woman who doesn"t wear the traditional Islamic cover.
Despite his philanthropic gesture, Nekkaz said he believes wearing the niqab or the burkini is not the best way to integrate in European societies.
"However, like the French philosopher Voltaire once said, even if I don"t agree with these women, I will fight until death to guarantee their freedom of expression," said Nekkaz, who gave up his French nationality in 2013.
Human rights activists have long weighed in on the controversy surrounding the legislation.
Herv Lavisse, president of the Cannes-Grasse section of the Human Rights League, said France"s recent burkini ban would be counterproductive because "instead of appeasing people, it will inflame tensions."
"I decided to use my checkbook and to pay these fines, in order to guarantee these women"s freedom," Nekkaz said.
To date, 15 women have contacted the businessman to pay their fines, Nekkaz said.
"I think that by the end of the month, that is to say by the end of the application of this decree for the summer, we are estimating that there will be about a hundred fines," Nekkaz said.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/22/world/france-burkini-fines-paid/index.html
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