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A Muslim woman from Australia travelled to France to wear her burkini on the beach, only to be confronted and forced off the sand by angry locals within minutes.
Zeynab Alshelh, a 23-year-old medical student from Sydney, decided to fly to Europe a few weeks ago after becoming upset when 30 French cities banned women from wearing the full-length swimsuits at public beaches after the Nice terror attack in July, according to Channel Seven's program Sunday Night.
In an attempt to show solidarity with local Muslims, Ms Alshelh and her mother wore their blue burkinis as they enjoyed a day out on the French Riviera with her father.
Despite the fact the ban on burkinis had since been overturned by France's highest administrative court, Ms Alshelh and her family were met with harsh reactions from fellow beachgoers.
'We were threatened by locals to leave the beach and if we didn't they were going to call the police. They weren't happy with us being there, even though it was on the beach that the burkini ban was overturned but the locals were not happy,' she said.
A man confronted Ms Alshelh and told her he would call the police if she and her family didn't leave, while others made hand gestures or muttered disapproving comments.
'There shouldn't be a connection between terrorism and the burkini and there shouldn't be a connection between terrorism and Islam altogether,' Ms Alshelh said.
'I have a nose, you have a nose you have two eyes, I have two eyes - everything is the same just slight difference in your believe systems.'
Frustrated by the reception she was met with at the beach, Ms Alshelh teamed up with a local Muslim woman to answer any questions the locals might have about the burkini.
But the pair were once again met with a less than friendly response.
'I just wanted to see it for myself, I wanted to see what is going on here – why is this happening – I want to speak to the girls who have gone through this kind of stuff,' she said.
Although the French court ruled that the Bastille Day terrorist attack in Nice was insufficient grounds to justify the ban on Islamic swimwear, Nice and several other towns have ignored the ruling and still enforce the ban.
Women have been forced by police to remove garments that cover their head or majority of their body and others have also been given fines.