In the winter I don’t like to wear hats. I wrap my head with a big scarf. I don’t wear it like a typical hijab, but it is similar enough. I wonder – would I be allowed to show like this in a French university or other places where hijab is not allowed? I read that hijab is forbidden as a religious symbol. But I’m just a catholic with scarf on my head.
In: Other
This is a thing? I’m ignorant to this so please forgive me if I say anything disrespectful, but what’s to stop someone from arguing, “it’s not a hijab, it’s a scarf”? I mean, doesn’t hijab literally translate to “barrier”?
The hijab is not forbidden by name. The law just bans any religious symbols. It does not make any mention of anything specific. It is up to the schools to interpret what is a religious symbol and what is not. A scarf may be interpreted as a religious symbol, either as a hijab or as a catholic vail. This is up to whomever is enforcing the law. But as far as I understand universities are not covered by this law either, it is just primary and secondary schools. And if you show up with a religious symbol they are not going to give you a fine or anything but will rather tell you to leave and come back after you have changed. So in your case you could just remove the scarf if someone complains and make sure you remove it when you are inside.
Unless your an athlete competing for France this point is not relevant. There is no overall hijab ban. Only for certain professional sports and for French athletes during the Olympics.
The hijab isn’t banned in France, only face coverings. You’ll be fine with a scarf in a similar vein to a hijab
[removed]
A hijab is not forbidden in French universities (except in some courses where it might be a security hazard – such as a chemistry workshop), since universities enjoy their academic freedom.
But to the main point – there are places where a hijab is not allowed, but they are mostly indoors. So if you enter such a place, it is possibly warmer inside and you will remove your scarf on your own, which will solve your problem. If not, then possibly someone could politely ask you to remove it. You will then have two options: do it or quit the place.
I don’t think that a scarf would be taken for a hijab, but it might be treated as such, just to avoid some borderline cases. E.g. some school directors prefer everybody to remove any head wear when entering the school, as a simple and easily enforceable rule.
Religious symbols are banned if you are representing the country, so if you work in a townhall, a hospital, school, stuff like that you’ll be asked to not wear your hijab/cross (if visible)/catholic veil/else while you’re working and publicly representing [France]. It does not concern students (from memory, although it’s been a while since I was in university and might misremember) private workers, citizens walking in the street, etc.
People may use the law to be assholes to women wearing the hijab though, it is true, but it’s not supposed to be the spirit of it. (I remember the first week/month it came, I was in the equivalent of high school (like 12-15 years old) and a monitor told me off because I had a bandana in my hair. Reader, I’m the palest of white, this was a rolled bandana that only covered my forehead, there was no way to mistake this for a hijab, they just wanted to use it as an excuse to be a petty tyrant)
Any “ostentatious” symbols are banned for anyone working for the government. So public school teachers, nurses and doctors in public hospitals, Olympic athletes, etc. cannot wear hijab while working. More recently, France passed laws banning hijabs and abayas in grade schools (not universities).
So you can wear your scarf in university without any problems. Even if someone thought it was a hijab, you’d have the right to wear it. But for Muslim women working in the public sector, they are denied their right to free exercise of religion.
Are you going to refuse to remove it indoors where its warm?
Having a law and enforcing it, is 2 differents matters.
It is actually not systematically enforced and it is not fairly applied.
The law enforcement can therefore decide whenever they want to enforce it or not. (Giving them a whole new kind of power).
So if you don’t look as muslim, or a way that the law enforcement could see you as a muslim, you will never be in trouble for a scarf.
however if you look like a possible muslim, anything that will cover your hair may be an issue.
Sister veil (from catholic church) is never a problem.
France do not have the same level of individual right protection as it may exist in the USA. So those kind of laws have been more and more frequent so the police could bully specific part of the population.
Latest Answers