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.
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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.
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