Srinagar: Reacting to reports that a group of Muslim women in France defied burkini, full-body Islamic swimsuits, ban following which they were fined, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said it should be a woman’s choice whether she’s comfortable in a bikini or burkini.

The two public swimming pools in southeast France were shut down despite the current heat-wave after 10 burkini-clad women, accompanied by activists from the Alliance Citoyenne rights group, went to the Grenoble pools on Sunday.

“It should be a woman’s choice whether she’s comfortable in a bikini or burkini,” Ms Mehbooba, who is the president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Along with the text, Ms Mehbooba also retweeted a 1.10 minute video of one of the women, demanding the right to bathe – despite a municipal ban on the swimwear worn by Muslim women. She further said they will again protest this Sunday.