By Rumki Chowdhury
I was on a road trip to a conference with a few colleagues, including the French teacher. He is a great teacher and an awesome colleague so when he refused to agree with my perspective on the hijab/headscarf ban, I was surprised, to say the least.
“It is my choice. What about all of those girls and women who choose to wear the hijab? Is it fair for the government to tell them that it is illegal for them to wear it?”
“Well,” the French teacher began. “You need to see things from the French government’s perspective….”
You can imagine the lava boiling within me at that point, but it simmered down with the thought, Try to see this from another perspective just as he has listened to yours; give him a chance to explain just as he has given you.
The French teacher continued, “They are afraid that the growing population of Muslims and the normalization of the headscarf is going to take over their entire identity as French and Catholic.”
“So, you think it’s okay that they’re forbidding Muslim women from wearing what they want to wear?”
“This is the same as if I were in a Muslim country where they would require me to follow specific dress codes out of respect for their culture,” he said.
It made sense to me at the time, but then I regretted not quoting the Bible. In fact, there are 40 different Bible verses all about how to treat other human beings including Luke 6:31, “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”
After having returned home, I instantly regretted not asking the French teacher, “If you feel bad or offended for not being able to wear what you want to wear, then why limit others from wearing what they want to wear, for ex. the hijab? Shouldn’t you have a better understanding, in that case? Don’t you want to try putting yourself in the hijabi’s shoes?”
Likewise, according to “Sahih Muslim” Hadiths, Prophet Muhammad said, “None of you have faith until you love for your neighbor what you love for yourself.”
In other words, live in harmony by respecting each other’s choices. That is why the “My Headscarf, My Choice Campaign” was created in France. It followed the #WECAN4HRS, #LetMeChoose, and #Hateisoverrated movement for the human right to choose to wear what one wants to wear!
The debate about the headscarf is just one of many that has led us to this point in France and of course, Europe, as a whole, where hijab is banned on many levels.
President of Femyso, Hande Taner, said to BBC on Wednesday, the 3rd of November, “The campaign itself is still on…. As for why the tweet was deleted, I can’t speak on behalf of the Council of Europe…. Really sad that the efforts of minority youth are being attacked and undermined.” Taner meant “attacked and undermined” by Politicians.
The Council of Europe ran the campaign to combat anti-Muslim discrimination by using the slogan, “Beauty is in diversity as freedom is in hijab.” Immediately, the French Politicians demanded that the advertisement be removed. It was removed.
Even if the Muslim population in France is just 5% of its total population, that is 3.35 million people and growing. However, the Catholic population makes up for about 80% of France’s total population. In that case, how much of a threat can 5% really pose to an entire society and what’s more, a threat by choice of clothing? Rhetorical question.
About author
Rumki Chowdhury is Editor of World Hijab Day Organization. She is an award-winning published author. She has an MA in English Literature from Queen Mary University of London, a BA in English Writing from William Paterson University of New Jersey and an English Subject Teaching Degree from Gävle Högskolan in Stockholm, Sweden. She speaks Bengali and Swedish fluently! She has years of experience in the media and publishing worlds. Rumki lives with her husband and their three daughters.
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