France targets the hijab again while denying ‘Islamophobia’ exists. On March 30, 2021, the French Senate voted in favor of the bill, which bans the wearing of hijabs in public for Muslim women under the age of 18, prohibits burkinis at public swimming pools, and forbids hijabi mothers from accompanying their children on school outing. These laws, which are part of the proposed “Separatism Bill” are not yet in effect as they will first need to be confirmed by the National Assembly.
In the middle of an uncertain and international sanitary crisis, France seems to be focusing on the Muslim community which represents only 5.6% of the population over 15 years of age according to the French polling company IFOP.
French MPs have voted to back a new law that would set the age of consent at 15 so now the age of consent for sexual relations is lower than the age of consent for hijab. Priorities seem to be in order…
They don’t want to address the reality of racism especially during a critical time with the spread of Covid19 while many countries get a vaccine rollout France tempers fray over vaccine strategy.
Veils have already been banned in French public schools since 2004 and beyond stereotypes, prejudice and clichés, ironically Muslim women are perceived as those who only stay at home and do not work because of male dominance when in reality, it is the French government that wants to erase them from society.
Muslims around the world are deeply saddened by the idea of this restriction on the freedom of personal expression. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad wrote, “This is what happens when you normalize anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim hate speech, bias, discrimination, and hate crimes— Islamophobia written into law.”
A moment to remember the words that are attributed to the social activist and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt ‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people’. A country should be greater than this.
