‘Law against Islam’: French vote in favour of hijab ban condemned

As part of the ‘anti-separatism’ bill, the French Senate has voted for outlawing the headscarf for minors in public.

A bid by the French Senate to ban girls under 18 from wearing the hijab in public has drawn condemnation, with the hashtag #HandsOffMyHijab circulating widely on social media. The hijab is a headscarf worn by many Muslim women and has been the subject of a decades-long feud in France. The French Senate’s move comes as part of Paris’s push to introduce a so-called “anti-separatism” bill which it says aims to bolster the country’s secular system, but critics have denounced singling out the Muslim population.