The Country of France That is Known for Being The “Indivisible, Secular, Democratic, and Social Republic” has Passed a Law Prohibiting People From Wearing Headscarves 

By: Huma Ahmad

Muslims come together to protest for their religious rights that are being taken away from the French government. Credit: inminds.co.uk

With the rise of extremism in France, it seems as if many people are steering more towards the support of Islamophobia. 

It was first seen prevalent when a law was passed on April 11, 2011, that didn’t allow women to be able to cover their faces with veils such as the Muslim women that wear ‘burqas’. 

This law was an introduction to one of the several laws that went against a religious right that is available in the rest of the countries around the world. 

Once this law was passed, Muslim women went to the streets to peacefully protest against such an unrighteous law that was able to be passed extremely easily. 

Even with the numerous protests in which Muslim women used their voices to be able to live in a country that was slowly becoming oppressive, new amendments kept getting passed by the French Senate. 

In April of 2021, there has been a new amendment that has been passed by the French Senate that would make it illegal for minor girls to wear religious headscarves such as the ‘hijab’ and to be able to wear religious bathing suits that cover the entire body called the ‘burqini.’

 Even though there are high chances of the National Assembly failing to pass on this amendment to transform it into law, it does cause a debate on how France really is a free country as they state to be.

In addition to this new amendment, a few of the French senators have also decided to prohibit the headscarves for all ages in national sports competitions that are also viewed on television. 

Many Muslims continue to feel betrayed especially when they were born in France.They believe in the ideologies and values of the French constitution and how it is a secular country that allows people to freely practice their own religion equally as everyone else.

 Yet they have been threatened by the government as being an enemy that is against the religious practice that Muslims dearly practice upon.

With many discrepancies, comes with two sides of thought: the people who oppose the amendment and the people who support it. 

The people who support this amendment believe that it should be implemented because it goes against the visualization and cultures of France. It also seems that Islam is growing, which is prominently visually seen when walking through the streets of France. 

Additionally, there have been extreme hate crimes from radical Muslims such as the incident that occurred when a middle school teacher was beheaded by causing a mockery against an extremely important holy figure for Muslims of Prophet Muhammad. 

On the contrary, many Muslims were against this sudden act of violence and had a rising fear of the government continuing to push on singling them out. 

With the new election that is currently creeping in the next French elections, people are horrified if there is going to be a possibility of society completely splitting. This separation of the leftists and the rightists may cause massive destruction against the country. 

Many government leaders from different religious sects such as Catholic and Jewish leaders were against such laws. 

Without the change of mindset and laws of the French government, Islam is going to be seen as a religion that needs to be banned in France.