Absurd News of the Week

The greatest concern of women prisoners in a Swedish Jail near Gothenburg is that the are not able to get a decent tan. A prison council has written to Sweden's Justice Ombudsmen to say the issue is one of sex discrimination. The female inmates complained that that, unlike their male counterparts, they are unable to take off their tops to enjoy the sun thus depriving them of a basic human right. They believe they should be allowed bikinis.

"It's a human right," said the women. "We want to be able to enjoy the sun just like everybody else in Sweden, whether they are in an institution or on the outside. How are we supposed to be able to sunbathe at all? The answer we have got is that we can sunbathe in shorts and sports top," the prisoners wrote, according to Sweden's Aftonbladet. "We are treated differently because we are in an institution and we are discriminated against because of our gender."

If these female inmates' greatest concern during their imprisonment is that they are unable to maintain a nice tan there is some fundamentally wrong with the jail they are in. Punishment for a crime should not be enjoyable. Prisoners' rights = food, water and a cell, not bikinis.

Since when is achieving the perfect tan a "human right?"