How not to preserve gender equality and women's dignity

"France says that ensuring gender equality and women's dignity _ and upholding a tradition of secularism _ are among the reasons France is outlawing fully covering Islamic veils, like niqabs, which hide all but the eyes." - Newser, Oct. 29, 2010.  The ban was passed into law in October, 2010, to be effective in April, 2011.

No matter how backwards a niqab is, surely it's not as offensive as this:

But lo and behold, a mayor in an Italian southern seaside town of Castellammare di Stabia has banned "very skimply clothes".  "Short skirts will be allowed to be worn as long as they are in keeping with Mayor Luigi Bobbio's rule; they can't be revealing." - mydaily, Oct. 27, 2010

Surely, banning skimpy clothes would be in line with France's concern about gender equality and women's dignity. Therefore, if France is serious about the dignity of women, skimpy clothes should be banned as well.  Because if not, then the effort to ban the Islamic veil must have had motives other than what was publicly stated.