Algeria has been a scene of a ‘bikini revolution’ led by feminist groups in the face of mounting religious extremism sparked by a number of MPs and proliferated through social networking messages advising women to observe a certain dress code at the beach, Al Akhbar reported today. This move takes women’s right to swim freely and gaily on beaches as a way to resist Islamist conservatism (ISIS style), Al Akhbar said. To recall, a group of young feminist activists set out a hashtag via social media named ‘republican baths’ asking women (and their supporters of men) to carry out large gatherings of bikini swimsuits in defiance to the anti-swimwear Islamist fanatic onslaught on the country since the month of Ramadan. According to Al Akhbar, the bikini operation which took off from the town of Annaba in north east Algeria to coincide with the country’s National Day on July 5 spread like wildfire attracting more than 3 thousand women and men activists across Algeria. Dozens of similar revolutionary baths were organized in Annaba, Wahran and the capital. The movement is expected to culminate on August 7 in one of the largest gatherings within the ‘Colors Festival’, held annually at the famous beach of Tichy in the Amazigh tribal region, Al Akhbar concluded. (Al Akhbar, August 1, 2017)