Hands Off My Hijab: Tracing The Effects Of France’s “Anti-Separatism” Bill On Education And Freedom Of Choice

Under the garb of promoting liberty, the Anti-Separatism Bill seeks to codify Islamophobia by showing blatant disregard for the rights of the 5.7 million Muslims in France. It is important to consider two specific provisions of this Bill: one that seeks to regulate home-schooling, and another aimed at banning the hijab for girls under the age of 18.

REGULATING HOME-SCHOOLING, RESTRICTING FREEDOM

In 2004, France effectuated a ban on wearing religious symbols (like the hijab) in public schools. This meant that Muslim girls who wished to continue wearing the scarf were faced with only two options: to attend a private school, or to be home-schooled. The scarcity of private schools for Muslims in France is no secret, with the first such school opening only in 2001. Even today, only 60 private Muslim schools exist in the country, in contrast to more than 8,000 Catholic schools. This is a disappointing number, which was further exacerbated by the introduction of the Gatel Law in 2018, which mandated that the directors and teachers of private schools must hold French nationality. Considering the fact that most Muslims in France are immigrants, this law disproportionately targeted Muslim private schools.

Moreover, private schooling is expensive and is not a viable option considering the economic reality of the majority of Muslims in France. Most live in banlieues, or poor suburban areas. This means that both money for fees and accessibility due to distance from the private schools pose a challenge. Even if a Muslim girl can afford to pay the private tuition fee, she may have to spend months on a waitlist because of the limited number of spaces. These roadblocks rule out the option of choosing private education for many Muslim girls.

The only other ray of hope for girls who wish to don the hijab is home-schooling. However, the new law restricts home-schooling to only special cases, and mandates approval from authorities for the same, creates a unique dilemma for them. If they attend public school, then they will be stripped of an essential symbol of their identity. On the other hand, if they hold on to this identity, they will lose their basic right to quality education.

By barring hijab-wearing mothers from entering the premises of public schools or from participating in routine activities like school field trips, the Bill makes Muslim students feel unwelcome. This demeaning and serves to alienating an entire community. Denying mothers the right to be involved in the education of their children serves as an ugly reminder that the expectation for Muslims in France is clear: “our way, or the high way”. Hence, Muslims must abandon their Islamic culture in order to assimilate into French society, because the essence of the government’s policies is that in France, a good Muslim is an invisible Muslim.

DEFENCE OF THE BAN

The French government has defended the hijab ban by describing it as a step towards gender equality. However, regulating women’s freedom of choice amounts to taking one step backwards. The government has twisted the French ideal of liberté beyond all recognition. The ban does not just take away a piece of clothing from women, but rather their individual right to freedom of expression. By describing the hijab as “oppressive,” France has taken away the liberty of young girls to be able to express themselves as they please. Such disregard for their right to choose finds its roots in the colonial mindset of “French supremacy,” wherein minority ethnic women are viewed as damsels in distress that must be saved.

The French government claims that it is “empowering” women, by taking away their autonomy and dictating their behaviour and actions. This denial of choice, and not the headscarf, is what true oppression looks like. With feminism gaining prominence across the world, we must remind ourselves of what empowerment really means. Instead of asking young girls to make a choice between “freedom” in the public sphere and “oppression” in the private sphere, the government must arm them with the tools needed to empower them in both the public and private sphere.

LOOKING FORWARD 

Instead, this Bill creates a predicament; to get access to education, Muslim women will have to shed their religious identity. Such wilful targeting of one group’s right to culture and freedom of choice, under the garb of a supposedly noble cause, is nothing but veiled racism. It represents one more brick being used to slow-build the global wall of Islamophobia. This is evident from the Canadian Education Minister’s remark stating that Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education, could teach in Quebec if she removes her headscarf: he would require the girl who was shot by the Taliban for attempting to get an education to remove her hijab in order to teach. Clearly, the aim of this wall is to separate and isolate one specific religion from the rest of the globe. However, certain countries are attempting to weaken the foundations of this wall which has been built using hate and discrimination as mortar.

In a laudable move, New Zealand has introduced hijab as a part of the official uniform of their police force. In fact, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, donned a hijab herself in solidarity with the Muslim community in the aftermath of the Christchurch shootings. Recently, Tanzania elected Africa’s first hijab-wearing president, Samia Suluhu.

The message that these leaders send out to the world is that the hijab, if chosen by women, can be a statement of power. In order to empower young girls in making this choice, it is important for them to be educated, without having to worry sacrificing a part of their identity. As Michelle Obama said, “When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous”. The future of Muslim girls in France, and the future of the country itself, depends on the preservation of this choice.

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Sanvi Bhatia is a student at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad. Sanvi's areas of interest include gender studies and minority rights.She is deeply passionate about universal access to education.

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Ishika Garg is a student at the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, Hyderabad. Ishika has a passion for human rights and social justice, particularly relating to women's rights.

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