French Senate Projects Islamophobia on to the Nation by Voting for Ban of the Hijab

If pushed through, this law will be extremely detrimental to the bodily autonomy of Muslim women.

On March 30th the French Senate voted to ban Muslim women under the age of 18 from wearing the hijab in public.

The ban will also include mothers who wear hijabs being prohibited from joining school trips, and public pools will also have the right to refuse the burkini.

Unfortunately this is not an isolated attack on Muslim culture. France has previously pushed through laws that police Muslim women’s rights in 2010 when they banned full body swimwear and niqabs.

Unsurprisingly, many people have criticised the move as an ‘attack on religious freedom’ as it strips women of their right to have a choice over what they wish to wear.

Despite this, government officials believe this move will protect women’s equality and dignity, as well as encourage assimilation in to secular French culture.

The bill specifies that it aims for the prohibition of ‘conspicuous religious sign by minors and of any dress or clothing which would signify an inferiorisation of women over men’ being worn in public spaces.

Although the wording of the proposal makes it seem as though the government has Muslim women’s best interests at heart, it is clear they just wish to pursue their agenda of immersion.

It has been argued that religious symbols such as veils oppose European principles of enlightenment and individuality, and there is clearly still a pursuit to eliminate this ‘deviance’.

This is heavily demonstrated by Bruno Retailleau, a right wing senator who described the hijab as ‘sexist’:

“Stop telling us the veil is only a piece of cloth while it characterises the claim of Islamist ideologies to impose on us a counter society, separate from the national community.”

However some government officials believe that this bill could prove disastrous.

National Assembly member Sacha Howlie warned that this ban would be “counterproductive” as it could cause some Muslim’s to further withdraw from society due to the attempt to subdue their culture.

By further oppressing their religion, the government are actively displaying their disregard for the needs and desires of the Muslim community. By doing this they are unconsciously stimulating Islamophobia within the nation as this ban will give people a reason to condemn Muslim practices, and therefore act upon this.

Ultimately it should be a Muslim woman’s right to wear whatever she likes without being governed. Many Muslims have taken to twitter to share their disgust towards this offensive proposal, as they rightfully feel ‘violated’.

Countless women have also highlighted that although the hijab is an obligatory part of their religion, it is also their choice whether they wish to wear it or not before puberty.

Some women may decide to wear the hijab at a younger age to show their devotion towards God, and this right could be taken away from them.

Many are protesting that peacefully practicing their religion does not harm anyone else, so it is unjust to strip them of this right. The motive for doing so is ‘blatant islamophobia’.

The ban has not yet come in to effect as the bill still needs approval by the National Assembly. There is still hope that Muslims will not have their religious and cultural rights taken from them.