In August 30 French beach towns banned the “burkini,” an article of women’s swimwear that covers the head, torso, legs and arms. Covering the body and head is a symbol of modesty for many Muslim women, so the burkini enables them to go to the beach while adhering to their values. On Aug. 26, the French High Court revoked the ban in one of these towns, Villeneuve Loubet.

In an interview with the French newspaper the Nice-Matin, David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes, one of the 30 towns which banned the burkini, said that “if a woman goes swimming in a burkini, that could draw a crowd and disrupt public order. The burkini is the uniform of extremist Islamism, not of the Muslim religion.”

Municipal officials justified the ban through the French constitutional tenet of laicité, which means secularism, but the ban goes a step too far. This policy is meant to apply in the way that the government makes decisions, not in the way citizens lead their lives. In effect, the rule forces a public guise of agnosticism on Muslims.

Banning the burkini is a knee-jerk reaction to the recent terrorist attacks in France. The rule is designed to placate Islamophobes, not solve any real security issues.

According to the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), almost two thirds of the French population feels that Islam has more of an impact on French society than it should, and almost half think that that Muslims pose a danger to France’s culture.

Those in favor of the ban seem to be unwelcome to the influence of different cultures on French society. Burkinis do not inherently “disrupt public order.” At its core, the issue is caused by those who choose to blame every single Muslim for the actions of a few terrorists.

France’s national motto, “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité,” which translates to liberty, equality, fraternity, dates back to the French Revolution, when the French people protested against the French monarchy to protect these rights. By barring Muslim women from practicing their faith, France is infringing on the very values it claims to stand for.

It is hypocritical of French officials to criticize Islam for “forcing” women to wear a certain garb when they themselves are doing the same by banning the burkini. Telling women what they can and cannot wear is oppression, regardless of whether the uniform is a bikini or a burkini.

The ban is counterproductive at preventing extremism because it isolates and implicates women who have done nothing to warrant suspicion. For most who wear the burkini, it is a symbol of modesty. Reducing the burkini to a sign of oppression or radicalism exemplifies a pointed contempt of Islam, which should not be coming from a government that claims to be inclusive of all faiths.

Ultimately,  the French-Muslim population is rapidly growing, and banning the burkini in no way eradicates their presence and importance. Instead of trying to shove Muslims in a corner, French policy makers must return to the values of liberty, equality and fraternity that they once fought for.