The current campaign to ban the wearing of the headscarf for any girl under the age of 18 as part of the "separatism bill" is the latest manifestation of France's tense relationship with Islamic dress, campaigns that have gained continuous momentum since the events of September 11, 2001.

In a report published by the British newspaper, The Independent, writer Bragia Agarwal says that attempts to ban the veil and veil contradict what the French claim about empowering women, a move that is mainly based on anti-Islamic rhetoric, which adopts the idea that all Muslim women are oppressed and dressed The veil without their desire, and that they need help in order to confront the male authority.

Ongoing campaigns

The author affirms that France's campaigns against the headscarf actually began in February 2004, when the French National Assembly launched a series of discussions to enact a law aimed at banning religious symbols in schools, including the Islamic headscarf, the Jewish hood and Christian crosses.

It was preceded by a number of German states that banned female teachers from wearing the headscarf in September 2003.

In 2011, France became the first country in the world to ban women from wearing any type of face covering in public places.

The veil ban at that time raised many questions about France's position on its Muslim citizens.

During this period, the far-right parties - including the "Republicans" led by Nicolas Sarkozy and the National Front party led by Marine Le Pen - launched a national dialogue centered on the situation of Muslims in France, with a focus on the country's "Christian heritage".

France claims that one of the pillars of the new law is resistance to all forms of oppression of women (Reuters)

In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights ratified the French law on the ban on the burqa, affirming that France does not violate this law the privacy of its Muslim citizens and their freedom of expression and belief.

And in 2016, several coastal French cities banned the "burkini" - a bathing suit that covers the body - on beaches.

The writer considered that the new proposal to ban wearing the headscarf is another episode of these racist policies that target Muslims in general, and Muslim women in particular, and rob them of their rights under the pretext of respecting the values ​​of the French Republic and other justifications.

According to the author, a large part of this mentality is attributed to France's imperial legacy, as it occupied many Muslim countries in Africa and the Middle East during the twentieth century, and worked to separate religion and the Arabic language from public affairs, and this colonial mentality did not fade away with the passage of time, but rather formed the roots of Islamophobia Which characterizes the orientations of the French state in the current period.

A woman wearing a burkini joins a protest outside the French embassy in London on August 25, 2016 (French)

A stark contrast

On March 30th, the French Senate voted in favor of a "separatism law" which "aims to impose the values ​​of the republic and to give the state the tools necessary to fight Islamic extremism."

France claims that one of the pillars of this law is resistance to all forms of oppression and violation of women's dignity.

According to the author, the French government suffers from the complex of playing the "role of the savior", as it claims to support women from ethnic minorities, but it dictates what they should wear, so is it logical to empower women by stripping their free will and their right to choose?

So far, the bill has not yet entered into force, pending a vote on it in the National Assembly.

If passed, the age of majority for French women will be less than the age at which they can wear the veil, as women at the age of 15 enjoy independence and freedom to establish sexual relations, but they will not be able to wear the veil until after the age of 18.

The author concludes that the new draft law contradicts the slogan of the French state, "Freedom ... Equality ... Brotherhood", as it completely lacks principles of justice and equality, as it limits women's rights to the issue of sexual liberation!