The double standard on hijabs

Lee Yu-jung
The author is a reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo on international news.

The controversy over restrictions on clothing associated with Muslims has been refueled in France amid passionate rallies from both pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian supporters across the world as the death toll from the Israel-Hamas conflict escalates.

French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra late last month banned French athletes from wearing a hijab at the Paris Olympics next year. Valérie Pécresse, the right-wing head of the Paris Regional Council, reportedly had sent a letter to the sports minster demanding the government expand the ban on hijabs to all sports competitions.

A group of Muslim women football players in France, dubbed Les Hijabeuses, has been fighting a legal battle against the French Football Federation to overturn its ban on wearing hijabs during games. In June, the Conseil d’État — the highest court in France for issues and cases involving public administration — ruled in favor of the football association finding the ban suitable and appropriate. Emboldened by the court backing, the government prohibited athletes representing France from wearing a hijab. It then issued a national ban on abaya — a robe-like garment worn by Muslim women — in public schools starting from the fall semester. The decision brought about strong protests and lawsuits by the Muslim population that forms the largest immigrant group in France.

Whether to cover the head or the body is an ongoing debate around the world. While France is wrestling with Muslim women demanding their rights to wear hijabs, the fight in the reverse has been panning out in the Muslim society. Iranian women must put their career, livelihood and even their lives on the line to go out in public uncovered.

The anti-hijab campaign gained momentum after the death of then 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the morality police for “improperly” wearing her headscarf in September last year. Tehran enforced a brutal crackdown on the protests which were deemed a provocation against the regime and ideology. The clampdown killed at least hundreds, including minors, as of December last year. Last month, the Iranian parliament passed a bill imposing penalties of a maximum 10 years in jail and $8,500 in fines for violating the Islamic dress code by equating the uncovering of the head in public with “nudity.” The United Nations condemned the law by calling it a “gender apartheid.”

While the human rights issues related to the hijab rule are well known in western societies, the protest for the rights to wear hijabs gains less attention. Despite the lengthening of the debate, the hijab ban is gaining more support amid growing anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic sentiments across Europe.

From 2000, France, Australia, Belgium, Demark and Bulgaria prohibited the public wearing of the burqa and niqab that cover the face. The Netherlands and Germany do not allow scarf-covering of the hair and neck for public servants depending on the job description and location. The Swiss legislature last month passed a federal law banning face covering in public spaces and set a fine of 1,000 francs ($1,100) for violators.

But the ban in France stirs greater controversy and conflict because Muslim minorities make up nine percent of the population, the highest in Europe. (About five million Muslims live in France.) France has deep-seated pride and traditions on the principle of neutrality and secularism (laïcité), as its Constitution discourages religious involvement, symbols and influence in government and public entities.

But the UN and human rights groups condemn punishment on wearing hijabs. “No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not wear,” said Maria Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticizing the French for banning hijabs for athletes.

Saye Skye, a transgender rap artist and a human rights activist from Iran, argued for some middle ground as there was a lack of understanding in Europe about what it means for Muslims to wear a hjjab. Some regard it as strict oppression while others find it a part of their identity. “Europe must embrace this complexity and show support and solidarity, rather than impose bans without understanding the concept of hijab,” Skye said.