Maryya Dean, 36, and her sister-in-law Hina were on holiday in Albufeira with Maryya’s four children and other relatives when the upset happened.
Ms. Dean claims they were relaxing in the pool when a worker at the resort ordered them out of the water as
their burkinis “were against
Portuguese culture.”
The man reportedly “barked that their costumes were ‘not acceptable’”, and “fumed that they ‘must wear a bikini to follow Portuguese culture’.”
Ms Dean, from Chessington in Surrey, was wearing a normal swimsuit with three-quarter length leggings, while her sister-in-law was wearing three-quarter length leggings and a top that covered her arms down to her elbows.
The women told the Mirror they wore the conservative swimwear because it made them feel comfortable and for cultural and religious reasons.
Maryya told the Mirror: “I was not allowed to wear swimming gear that I am comfortable in and that was actually made for women like me to wear.
“We told him [the apartment worker] it was swimwear but he said ‘you have to wear a bikini or shorts. In Portuguese culture, it’s not acceptable.’
“He said we had to abide by Portuguese culture if we were in the country.”
The furious family also claim they were forced to perform a ‘walk of shame’ back to their apartment following the incident, and describe the experience as “disgusting” and “very distressing.”
She says the worker further singled out her nine-year-old daughter as an example of what swimwear should be worn by the adults.
“I was compared to my nine-year-old daughter who was told to stand up out of the pool to see what she was wearing which I found completely rude - I was told I should wear that to swim”, Ms. Dean says.
The head of the Algarve’s largest hotel association AHETA has told Portuguese newspaper Diário de Notícias that the incident is a “non-story”.
In comments to the newspaper Elidérico Viegas said “there is no recollection or logging
of that situation here in the
Algarve.”
The AHETA president went
on to say that “in England complaints are generated by private entities who earn commission and those organisations
gather clients and feed complaints that don’t exist to get compensation.”
He also highlighted that the woman failed to identify the unit in question and haven’t placed any type of complaint in the UK “but told the newspapers and tabloids.”
Burkinis have controversially divided opinion and have been banned in some tourist spots, such as on French beaches in Cannes and Nice.