No move to ban bikini on Goa beaches, says Minister

There will not be any ban on wearing of bikinis in Goa’s beaches as was being speculated following a spate of assaults on women tourists. This has been confirmed by a Goa minister.

Tourist resorts all over the world attract people through glossy advertisements of bikini-clad girls and bare-chested bronzed men frolicking in picturesque sandy beaches. Goa has been no exception. But in recent months, the image of the tourist paradise has been tarnished with assaults on girls, women especially those from Russia in the beaches.

This had raised concern among authorities as the tourist traffic could take a beating by such ugly incidents. Angry Russian officials reacting strongly, had even warned the Goa government that they would issue an advisory to Russians to keep off Goa’s sandy beaches.

A few insensitive statements from politicians suggested that single girls who stroll in the deserted beaches late at night, were virtually inviting molesters and rapists. This chauvinistic view raised a storm from women activists.

In one of the first such cases, a British girl Scarlett Keeling, 15, was raped and murdered in March 2008. A drug dealer gave Scarlett cocaine and Ecstasy before a Panaji bartender raped her. However, the British mother, from Bideford, Devon, accused local police, politicians and drug dealers of trying to cover up the rape and murder.

On Jan 30, the Goa Tourism Department rubbished media reports that the Goa government will ban bikinis on the beaches in view of spate of crimes against women in the holiday destination. "There are no moves to ban bikinis on the beaches. We have just moved to ensure that the government sponsored advertisements does not have women in bikinis on it," state Tourism Minister Fransisco Pacheco said.

The minister was reacting to the media reports which claimed, quoting a senior tourism ministry official, that bikinis would be banned on the state's beaches. "How will people bath in the sea without swim wear? There is nothing vulgar in wearing beachwear on the beaches," he said.

Pacheco said that his ministry was concerned over wrong portrayal of Goa's image as a sex tourism destination and that was why directives were issued to delete bikini- clad women from the advertisements. "This is a family holiday destination. There are lakhs of families, many from neighbouring states, who holiday here," he said. The minister said that the ban on bikinis cannot be imposed because foreigners come down here to take sunbath on the beaches.

Meanwhile, a Goa police team arrested Aman Bharadwaj, prime suspect in the rape of a nine-year-old Russian girl, from Chembur in Mumbai on Friday. The rape had taken place at Arambol beach in North Goa on the evening of January 26 while the girl was holidaying with her mother.

Bharadwaj’s accomplice, Anil Raghuvanshi, too, was arrested earlier from Panaji. The rape had taken place between 5.30pm and 6pm on Republic Day after Bharadwaj and his friend struck up a conversation with the girl’s mother on the beach. Bharadwaj ventured into the water with the girl and then took her to an isolated spot on the beach and allegedly raped her as his pal chatted up the mother, officials said. A medical examination confirmed rape.

- Asian Tribune -