Last Updated on: 21st July 2023, 03:44 pm
Will The EU Ban The Hijab?
As women around the world celebrate World Hijab Day, people are calling on the European Union to create safer spaces for discussing the Muslim headscarf.
Across the European Union, the headscarf of some Muslim women has been hotly contested for years. Some countries say banning the hijab would crack down on religious oppression and terrorism, while others say the ban would discriminate against women’s rights and make integration more difficult.
Some EU countries have already imposed strict bans on the burqa, a full-body garment with a mesh around the eyes to allow a woman to see; and the niqab, a face veil that leaves only the eyes uncovered.
Meanwhile, some EU countries have also imposed full or partial bans on the hijab veil in educational institutions, workplaces, and public spaces.
According to a March 2022 report by the Open Society Justice Initiative, a group of human rights advocates, such bans came into effect after US politicians accused him of clothing following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“The idea that Muslims as a group were the new ‘enemy within,’ with beliefs and practices that reflected lower values and standards than those in Europe, gained legitimacy across the political spectrum,” the report’s authors wrote.
Rumki Chowdhury, the blog editor for the World Hijab Day Organization, shared a similar sentiment.
“I had a tough time growing up in America and after 9/11 I had a really hard time even thinking about wearing a hijab because of all the propaganda about Muslims being behind the big terrorist attacks, so I was afraid of being discriminated against for wearing the hijab,” said Chowdhury, who now lives in Stockholm, Sweden.
“But actually it’s a misunderstanding because according to the Qur’an, if you kill a man, it’s like killing humanity, and I realized that what people were saying about Muslims wasn’t true. People were just looking for someone to blame. They were angry and sad and they are after us and what we were wearing,” she tells DW.
“I ended up forgetting what people thought about me wearing hijab because for me it was always something that brought me closer to my Lord Allah,” she added.
Will The EU Surely Ban The Hijab?
In 2010, following the September 11 attacks in the United States, France became the first EU country to ban the burqa and niqab in public places, describing them as a sign of oppression.
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy (in some places), the Netherlands (in public places), and Spain (in parts of Catalonia) have followed suit. On the other hand, Germany remains divided into burqas and niqabs, with some states banning them in schools and public spaces, and others fearing the bans could hamper integration.
In July 2021, the European Court of Justice ruled that women can be fired from their jobs if they refuse to remove their hijab when working in a job with exposure to the public.
“The prohibition on using any visible form of expression of political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer’s need to present a neutral image in front of customers or to avoid social conflict,” the judges of the European Court of Justice said.
Her decision followed a request from German judges that upheld the right of two employers to sack two women who insisted on wearing a headscarf at work.
But in October 2022, the ECJ ruled that EU companies may have to justify a ban on wearing religious symbols. The court was responding to a case about a Muslim woman in Belgium who was told she was not allowed to wear a hijab to work. The company said the decision was part of a neutrality rule designed to promote equality among employees.
Asmaa el Idrissi, a lawyer and anti-discrimination consultant from Bochum, told DW that such rules do not help companies to grow and are discriminatory.
“I had to deal with a hijab ban in the workplace at the Hessian Ministry of Justice, who told me that because of my headscarf, I could not do practical exercises as part of my court internship,” she said.
“This meant that I was not allowed to sit next to the judge and was not allowed to see the witnesses face to face. I was also not permitted to participate in certain functions of the prosecution, to act as a prosecutor, or to publicly represent the prosecution.”
“But for me, the hijab is a sign of identity and an instrument of emancipation, so I took action against it and went to the Federal Constitutional Court. For me, seeking diversity won’t help companies either,” he said.
El Idrissi said companies in Europe need to do more than just provide “talking memorabilia” when it comes to diversity policies.
“If we want to change structural racism, we must employ and support people from all walks of life and not discriminate against them based on their dress,” he said.
According to the Open Society Justice Initiative report, far-right and nationalist political parties have promoted bans and regulations on face veils and headscarves in most EU countries. The report also notes that five EU countries (Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Poland, and Portugal) have never spoken publicly about banning head or face coverings.
“I Want To Wear This”
To counteract such attitudes, New Yorker Nazma Khan floated the idea of declaring 1st February 2013, as World Hijab Day (WHD) in recognition of the millions of Muslim women choosing to wear the hijab and lead a humble life.
“The aim of celebrating this day in Europe and the United States is in a way to say that it is our choice and that we should be able to choose the type of clothing we want to wear. It is part of our individuality. It’s fashion. “It’s what I want to wear,” said Chowdhury, editor of the World Hijab Day blog.
“I know there’s this fear of what it might mean. You know, according to the mainstream media’s portrayal after 9/11, Islamophobia has been steadily and uninterruptedly increasing. By acknowledging this day, our goal is to counter that rhetoric.”
But while the hijab is seen by some women as a sign of religious identity and freedom, many women in Iran, for example, see it as a sign of religious oppression.
When last year 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being arrested by Iran’s so-called morality police for the way she wore her hijab, protests erupted in Iran and around the world, with people condemning her to the Iranian authorities. Strict dress code for women.
“Everything that is happening in Iran is very unfortunate and as women who wear the hijab, we support their cause because, at the end of the day, their protest is also for women having the freedom to choose what they wear. express their individuality,” said Chowdhury.
The EU Must “Show Support And Solidarity”
Saye Skye, an Iranian human rights activist who travels between Toronto and Berlin, told DW the EU also needs to do more to create safe spaces for people to discuss wearing the hijab.
“Hijab is a hot topic here in the West, but there is a lack of understanding of what it means to the women who wear it. In Iran, people have been losing their lives for not wearing a hijab for 43 years. In Afghanistan, the Taliban impose strict rules on the veil for Afghan women, so it is a form of oppression for women there, while there are also women who see it as part of their identity and expression”, said Skye.
“Therefore, a safe space is needed within the EU to hear all aspects of the hijab debate. It is important that governments create spaces where people can share their knowledge and experience of wearing the hijab,” he said Skye.
“Therefore, a safe space is needed within the EU to hear all aspects of the hijab debate. It is important that governments create spaces where people can share their knowledge and experience of wearing the hijab,” he said Skye.
“There’s trauma everywhere,” Skye said, referring to people struggling for their freedom in Iran and Afghanistan, where the hijab can erase their identity, and those who have struggled to be able to wear a hijab to express their identity.
“Therefore, Europe must accept this complexity and show support and solidarity instead of imposing bans without understanding the concept of hijab.”
Chowdhury echoed a similar opinion.
“We are in the 21st century and individuality is basically the new trend. Whether they wear hijab or not, European countries need to accept people for who they are and give them the freedom to choose what they want and express themselves freely,” he said.
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