Voice of British Muslim Women

Khanssa Ahsan, Thornton Heath

10 years ago, the French government passed a law which stated that Muslim women were not permitted to wear the niqab, a piece of clothing that covers the face. Ironically in August of 2020, the government made it compulsory for people to start wearing a mask which covers the same part of the face, due to Covid-19, whilst the niqab still remains prohibited and breaking this law is punishable with a fine and French citizenship education.

Now in 2021, in another attempt to control and suppress the Muslim women of the country by modernising and redefining Islam, the French government has decided that implementing a hijab ban is also necessary. The strategy of targeting a younger age group demonstrates that there has been careful consideration in order to implement this new bill, by targeting vulnerable young girls who will be forced to choose between religion and education. Muslim girls under the age of 18 may potentially be banned from wearing a hijab in public places and no justification behind this new bill has been given so far. The key question that arises from this is what is the true purpose and motive? How can a piece of clothing, which resembles the veil worn by Catholic nuns, and the tichel worn by Orthodox Jewish women, possibly cause so much concern for the French Senate, that they deem it necessary to implement such extreme laws?

A clear comparison can be seen between anti-Semitism and the current situation in France, as the French government targets the Muslim women as a way of controlling and supressing the minority. If this new law is approved, it will only mark the beginning of many more manipulative laws to come. These recent events clearly mark the fact that history repeats itself and that no matter what, humanity is still failing to learn from its past mistakes. Seeing as the media has once again failed to provide sufficient coverage on this news, it is important to raise awareness on this situation and to fully address the injustice happening against Muslims as a result of Islamophobia.