She confirmed Paris had issued an official protest through diplomatic channels. Turkish president blames Frances colonial past for the nationwide unrest, linking it to Islamophobia. (The politicians) want our emancipation, they want to save us from this imaginary oppression, but it is they who are oppressing us, said medical student Mona el Mashouly, 25, in her home city of Strasbourg. In Canberra on Tuesday, dozens gathered on the lawns of Parliament House, chanting "women, rights, freedom! We are seeing a justification of a breach of freedom and fundamental rights in the name of security a weaponisation of secularism, says the French legal scholar Rim-Sarah Alouane. Muslim women protest in Paris in October 2019 for the right to continue wearing headscarves. Islamic Studies researcher and lecturer at Charles Sturt University, Derya Iner, said a hijab - which means "cover" in Arabic - is generally understood to be a headscarf. Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning, Take international news everywhere with you! I looked the other way, he said, declining to give his name for fear of repercussions. The EU-funded campaign has caused controversy in France, A campaign sponsored by the European Union and the Council of Europe, Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow 'places explosives on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant roof', California should wipe interest on child support debt for black residents, says taskforce, Israel withdraws troops from Jenin as rockets fired from Gaza, Man dies in Marseille after being hit by projectile during riots, White House accused of massive attempt to censor Covid jab dissent, Biden pushes for Von der Leyen to be Nato chief, he could make it into a second-round runoff, Marine Le Pen, Mr Macron's main rival in the 2017 polls, lacit, its home-grown blend of secularism, banned wearing the burka and any other full-face veils. The Islamic veil across Europe 31 May 2018 Getty Images Countries across Europe have wrestled with the issue of the Muslim veil - in various forms such as the body-covering burka and the niqab,. The decision inspired a storm of feelings in Ms. Diakit shock, anger, disappointment. It broke my confidence and made me feel as if I didnt belong. However, the rules differ when it comes to headscarves and full-face coverings and this can be confusing because both the full-face veil . This wasnt even a law; it was simply government guidance, and it broke more than one of us. The death during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb has revived grievances about policing and race relations. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket There is this paternalistic approach as if we dont understand secularism but they have shown us that the real problem in their eyes is Islam. While in Iran, women are fighting to remove their hijabs, Muslim women in India are facing a significant court battle to uphold their right to wear their scarves at school. As cars burned and barricades went up in her neighborhood over the shooting, she got word from the countrys top administrative court that she could not play the most popular sport in France soccer while wearing her hijab. On football pitches today, headscarves are not forbidden. At around 6pm on Wednesday evening, a group of young women, some of them wearing hijabs, gathered on the grassy Esplanade des Invalides in Paris, armed with placards painted with slogans like "Football for all and "Let us play". Aida Alami contributed reporting from New York, and Aurelien Breedenfrom Paris. Protests in France: Several transport lines closed, events canceled. But when I arrived the next morning, I could see the headteacher was livid and talking to the teacher about me. A joint committee from parliaments two chambers will debate the amendments and they may yet be scratched from the bill. We have been forced into an enclave and the only way we can challenge things domestically is through international support. "There are others who don't believe it's religiously obligatory but choose to wear it out of solidarity for other Muslim women as a statement of belonging to their religious community or as a stance against Islamophobia.". 2023 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. This is the rule that senators want to extend to other federations in the sporting world. They sent letters, met with officials and even staged a protest at the federations headquarters to no avail. Women have been at the forefront of escalating protests in Iran sparked by the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws. France prohibited the wearing of Islamic headscarves in state schools in 2004. The policeman has now been arrested and has been charged with voluntary homicide. But Diakit had only fallen through the cracks. But, on the soccer field, everyone seems to agree that hijabs should be allowed. Even the referee of the game in Sarcelles, who had let Diakit play, seemed at odds with the ban. Some of the rioters are very young, Ari, as young as 14. All rights reserved. But were not French-French.. (It is) symptomatic of the constant policing of womens bodies, choices and beliefs that we have in France, she said, as well as the instrumentalization of Muslim women. She says she blames one man. She says she doesn't blame the system, the law enforcement as a whole for her son's death. They have used the hashtag to protest against the French senates vote to ban anyone under 18 from wearing the garment in public. September 27, 2022. And then, on top of it, the problem is denied, it couldnt exist.. As for the police, the official dismissed the notion of institutional bias. According to Dr Iner, Islam forbids acts of worship under compulsion. Crowds cheered when women burned their hijabs on a . Mahsa Amini's death in hospital on September 16, three days after her arrest, sparked the biggest protests in Iran in years. I was very sporty and ambitious, I wanted to travel the world. We shouldnt have to choose between wearing the headscarf and playing sport in this day and age. She quickly joined a sports-intensive program in middle school and participated in club tryouts. "Islam is the enemy of freedom. It made me retreat into a single dimension of my identity my religion when Ive always been interested in many things alongside my faith. France is among the 47 member states of the Council which acts as the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights. A group of young Muslim players from different teams, who call themselves Les Hijabeuses, or the hijab wearers, launched a legal challenge to the rule in 2021, arguing that it was discriminatory and excluded Muslim women from sports. But the hijab is widely viewed as a religious requirement that must be done of the woman's own volition. In January, a group of conservative senators tried to enshrine the soccer federations hijab ban in law, arguing that hijabs threatened to spread radical Islam in sports clubs. According to Dr Iner, these verses have been read by many scholars to highlight that Muslim women should cover their hair, neck, and ears while wearing long, loosely-fitted clothing in a show of modesty. In 1936, wearing the hijab was banned in Iran by then-ruler Reza Shah Pahlavi. On Thursday, the Conseil dEtat upheld the French Football Federations ban on wearing any obvious religious symbols, in keeping with the countrys bedrock principle of lacit, or secularism. You always have to justify yourself.. But he acknowledged never having spoken with any hijab-wearing athletes to hear their motivations, comparing the situation to firefighters being asked to go listen to pyromaniacs.. The police shooting was initially explained in the French news media as self-defense. In 2019, a French store dropped a plan to sell a hijab designed for runners after a barrage of criticism. A day after police banned a protest by the Hijabeuses, women footballers fighting for the right to wear religious headscarves in competition, the ban was overturned by a court. While she did not confirm the campaign was pulled due to the scale of uproar, a Council of Europe spokesman said: "We have taken down these tweet messages while we reflect on a better presentation of this project.". I was then sent to a disciplinary council because school is meant to be mandatory until youre 16. STRASBOURG, France - Sixteen year-old Mariem Chourak is a devout Muslim who considers wearing a hijab an expression of her devotion to the Prophet Mohammad, but a proposal by French senators. (modern). She must have said I was threatening her because they arrived immediately and in front of the school bus, full of parents, all the students, and my son two officers began lecturing me: This is a secular country, you have to leave.. But one of the most controversial points is extending the ban on women wearing headscarves in public sector roles, to private organisations that provide a public service. "Women burning the hijab, they don't do it to protest a verse from the Quran. And, Eleanor, remind us of the tragic events leading to these protests. "You shouldn't wear religious clothing when you play sports when you play football, you don't need to know the religion of the person in front of you," he said. Protests erupt in France as a Muslim mother accuses a far-right politician of "racial violence". The Protests Are Increasing And we will pass a law to make sure it is respected.". He blamed the French unrest Monday on Islamophobia that he linked to Frances colonial past. The French government has been battling . The headteacher came over, saying: You need to understand, we are in a republic here, there is a principle of secularism, and, if you dont like it, go home. I thanked her for the information about France being a republic, given that Im an academic researcher at one of Frances top universities, this wasnt exactly news to me. Women calling themselves the "Hidjabers" play football in the Luxembourg garden facing the French Senate in Paris on January 26, 2022 as a protest after senators voted last week in favour of a ban of the wearing of religious symbols during events and competitions organised by sports federations. @ConstantMeheut, A version of this article appears in print on, The Female Soccer Players Challenging Frances Hijab Ban, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/18/sports/soccer/france-hijab-ban-soccer.html. Those residents, he said, most of them teenagers, internalize a message of illegitimacy at a particularly tender time of emotional development, when they are building their sense of self. Muslim women style their hijabs in different ways, depending on personal and cultural factors. I started the hashtag as I felt the need to humanise the movement, Mohamed told the Guardian. He also called on parents to take responsibility for their kids and keep them home. "It wasn't that the government at the time was particularly feminist, it just felt that having women out in public wearing headscarves made the place backward," she said. Speaking to radio station LCI on Thursday,France's Minister for Gender Equality lisabeth Morenosaid:"The law says that these young women can wear a headscarf and play football. Franois-Xavier Bellamy, a French Right-wing MEP, said: One practically gets the impression of reading a speech by an Islamic organisation with an incredible hashtag #lajoiedanslehijab (joy in the hijab). The new separatism bill wants to stop girls under 18 wearing a scarf, but I can tell you it will just make them want to wear it more. I decided to make a formal complaint to several human rights groups, they refused to defend me, and to the educational ombudsman. The campaign tweeted images of two smiling young women with a split face - one half with uncovered hair and the other wearing the hijab - along with the slogan: Beauty is in diversity as freedom is in hijab., Others read: How boring it would be if everyone looked the same? Ms. Amini, 22, was arrested by Iran's "morality police" in the capital, Tehran, on 13 September, for allegedly not wearing a hijab in full compliance with mandatory requirements. Most of the immigrants who are condemned to live in ghettos, who are systematically oppressed, are Muslims.. We've received your submission. July 2, 2023 Mama Diakit is a French citizen, raised in the suburbs of Paris by two immigrant parents, not far from where a 17-year-old boy was shot by the police during a traffic stop last week. French Football Federation rules currently prevent players taking part in competitive matches from wearing "ostentatious" religious symbols such as Muslim headscarves or the Jewish kippa. It is meant to safeguard republican values, but critics, including Amnesty International, have raised serious concerns that it may inhibit freedom of association and expression, and increase discrimination. Frances education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, for example, supports the idea of banning mothers who wear them from accompanying children on school outings. What we want is to be accepted as we are, to implement these grand slogans of diversity, inclusiveness, said Foun Diawara, the president of Les Hijabeuses, which has 80 members. European taxpayers money shouldnt be funding this type of discourse, he said. Muslim women protest in Paris in October 2019 for the right to continue wearing headscarves. star Neymar as unfortunate and wondered if the religious ban should extend to them.). Well, a young guy named Nahel M. - they're not giving his last name - in the suburb of the city of Nanterre was stopped at a routine traffic stop, and he got shot. They are banned in schools and state institutions. In Iran, women are daring to go out without their headscarves in public places, streets, cafes, banks and even airports. Even France's hardline pro-law and order interior minister said he was stunned by the video. ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Yeah, Ari. French President has criticised Iran's violent crackdown on anti-hijab protests. Just an hour earlier theyd been informed that an administrative tribunal in Paris had overturned a ban on a demonstration they had planned for that same afternoon at 4:30pm. In France, anyone who speaks up for Muslim rights is labelled an islamo-leftist and undermined. Dr Hussein said scholars differ on their interpretation of whether it's compulsory, and the extent to which they need to cover themselves. Senator Christian Bilhac told lawmakers in April it would protect youngsters. At Wednesdays debate in the National Assembly, Les Rpublicains MPric Ciotti, an advisor to the party's presidential candidate Valrie Pcresse,lambasted the government for what he considers its meekness in the face of creeping Islamism in French society. The Hijabeuses collective was created in 2020 with the help of researchers and community organizers in an attempt to solve a paradox: Although French laws and FIFA, world soccers governing body, allow sportswomen to play in hijabs, Frances soccer federation prohibits it, arguing that it would break with the principle of religious neutrality on the field. She had been hoping for dialogue, connection and inclusion. Thank you so much. The amendment was eventually rejected by the governments majority in parliament, although not without frictions. There have been 875 arrests, 250 police officers injured. I was a model student until the point I refused to remove my headscarf full attendance, never late and yet I found myself in front of a disciplinary committee. Les Hijabeuses: the female footballers tackling Frances on-pitch hijab ban, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The affair is becoming a hot topic in French politics, just two months away from presidential elections. So what exactly are the Islamic rules around wearing the headscarf, and why are governments making decisions about how Muslim women can dress? Paul Cartmell Last Modified Date: June 09, 2023 The French government's ban on wearing garments seen as part of the Muslim hijab was made into law in 2004 and began to be enforced in September of that year. Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning, Take international news everywhere with you! 4 min Women protest in front of France's Senate on January 26, 2022, as part of the "Hijabeuses" activist group. The pressure is certainly mounting. The far right has been calling on Macron to declare a state of emergency. PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON: (Speaking French). The result is that many minorities feel doubly penalized. The conservative-dominated Senate added the amendment, as well as two more that would prevent mothers from wearing a hijab when accompanying children on school trips and ban the full-body burkini swimsuit. The place of religion and religious symbols worn in public is a long-running matter of controversy in France, a staunchly secular country and home to Europes largest Muslim minority. But Macron said it is not a reason to wreck public buildings like town halls and schools and police stations. The head refused to apologise. Celebrate diversity and respect hijab.. . "More broadly and particularly when it's a religious minority, it's a symbol of belonging to that community," Dr Hussein said. MUMBAI, India Footage of Iranian women protesting and burning their hijabs has fascinated Indians, in part because they are seeing the opposite scenario play out at home: Muslim women are suing. On Friday the bill was passed by the National Assembly, the lower house of the French parliament. Further amendments were tabled prohibiting full-length swimsuits (burkinis), girls under 18 from wearing the hijab in public, and mothers from wearing hijabs on their childrens school trips. "This European campaign promoting the Islamist veil is scandalous and indecent at a time when millions of women courageously fight against this enslavement," added far-Right leader Marine Le Pen, Mr Macron's main rival in the 2017 polls who could also reach the runoff next year. "Sporting federations whose task is to ensure the good functioning of public services can impose a neutrality requirement on their players in competitions and sporting events, to guarantee the smooth running of matches and any clashes or confrontation," the Constitutional Council said in a statement. Still, the court ruled otherwise, stating the federation was entitled to putting the ban in place in order to guarantee the proper functioning of public services and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.. Sun 25 Apr 2021 06.43 EDT Last modified on Tue 22 Mar 2022 08.42 EDT A Somali-Norwegian model whose Instagram post criticising a proposed ban on the hijab in France went viral has said she. Its a deformed legal monster, which aims not only to contain Muslims but to erase them from the public sphere.. His rival for the Republicans ticket, Paris region chief Valerie Pecresse, said she was "astonished" by the campaign and added the hijab was "not a symbol of freedom but of submission. Victories are beginning to mount for the activist group: Frances equality minister has also voiced her support for them. They permanently excluded me. Iran protest at enforced hijab sparks online debate and feminist calls for action across Arab world Solidarity: a woman cuts her hair outside the Iranian embassy in Istanbul in support of. "It's part of a wider context of imposing that form of religiosity on a society, and also, of course, patriarchy and control of women," Dr Hussein added. Mohamed added that the proposed legislation stems from discrimination and deeply rooted stereotypes against Muslim women. Judges found themselves under political pressure ahead of the ruling as mainstream parties look to fend off the far right riding high in the polls. Just the sight of a hijab can raise tensions. I ended up very isolated. It isn't contradiction; it is standing up to patriarchal hegemony & an oppressive state in both cases," Ms Krishnaswamy said. "To be (hijabi) or not be (hijabi) is the business of no state or man. Rawdah Mohamed, whose Instagram selfie went viral, says she wants to fight deeply rooted stereotypes. Sixty per cent of Iranians are under 30. It was under the principle of neutrality that Frances soccer federation barred players from participating in matches while wearing hijabs or other religious symbols. Erdogan also criticised the widespread looting that accompanied the unrest. At the root of the events that started in France is the social architecture built by this mentality. 2023 Copyright France 24 - All rights reserved. But those boys, they might be and they know other people wont.. Nearly a thousand people have been arrested, and 45,000 police have been mobilized. In Iran, the penalty for not wearing the hijab is a prison sentence, a fine or flogging. Top French court says no place for 'burkinis' in council's pools. The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore. A makeshift memorial for Nahel M. in Nanterre on Thursday, after a demonstration over the teenagers killing by police during a traffic stop earlier in the week. "We don't forget, we don't forgive," crowds chanted as they denounced the shooting death of a 17-year-old . The Constitutional Council itself shot back Wednesday at what it said were "attacks aimed at the administrative branch and especially the legal advisor". Les Hijabeuses held a celebrity game in February that drew athletes, actors and other supporters who oppose the hijab ban. While Macrons government has been at pains to insist the new law isnt aimed at any particular religion, many Muslims fear exactly that. On the Left, Socialist senator Laurence Rossignol, a former women's rights minister, said that while it was every woman's right wear the hijab, "to say that freedom is in the hijab is tantamout to promoting it". For five months, thousands of Iranians have been pouring into the streets to protest against the Islamic regime. SHAPIRO: NPR's Eleanor Beardsley. She now plays for a third-division club and plans to open a driving school. No regret, she said. She explained reasons could include - but are not limited to - fear of harassment, Islamophobia and barriers to seeking employment. And thats it.. Dr Hussein said that women who unveiled were seen as a "symbol of modernity". I told them what they were doing was institutional racism and that they were wrong about the law. Parents should not impose dogma on their children, he told the upper house. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed Frances nationwide riots on institutional racism and the countrys colonial past. Protesters, mostly minors, have torched cars, damaged infrastructure, and clashed with police in an outpouring of rage. Your whole life becomes a fight. While many French Muslims see attempts to curb headscarf use as a flagrant infringement on their civil liberties, the issue remains explosive. Charly Triballeau/Agence France-Presse Getty Images. These laws were put in place by the French government in a "fight against separatism and attacks on citizenship" and to further establish a secular society. Women can choose to wear it at any point in their lives when they feel ready to commit to the hijab. You just have to revisit the law and read what it says about freedom of belief and secularism to know that the law is on our side, Ins, the secretary general of the Hijabeuses, told FRANCE 24.