By
Sakina Virani
22nd July
2020
“This
declaration meant that hijab-wearing women don’t have the right to get higher
education. Some will, unfortunately, give up on their dreams and some will be
forced to remove the hijab to get an education.”
Several
anti-racist and feminist groups have led and participated in protests against
this ban such as Belges Comme Vous, La Cinquième Vague, and Collectif Contre
l’Islamophobie en Belgique. Over 1000 protestors gathered in central Brussels
under the #HijabisFightBack movement to voice their concerns over this
decision.
The
activists predominantly argue that these measures prevent equal opportunities
and could ostracise Muslim women from Belgium’s social life as well as
education which could potentially have a blow on their economy. The women are
appealing to universities to see the reality of their rights and oppose the ban
enforced by the state.
Muslim
students have petitioned for universities such as Francisco Ferrer Brussels
University college to defy the court ruling and so far, 12 universities across
Belgium have denounced this ban and released statements ensuring their students
that they will be allowed to continue their education, headscarf or not.
Unfortunately, the protests and petitions have not impacted the Belgian court
who have not responded or agreed to re-assess the ruling.
The Council
of European Muslims stated:
“This
declaration meant that hijab-wearing women don’t have the right to get higher
education. Some will, unfortunately, give up on their dreams and some will be
forced to remove the hijab to get an education.”
In response
to this controversial ban, the #HijabisFightBack movement was introduced by the
CEM to create a platform where decisions like these could be protested. Their
goal is to put pressure on the legislative system and to make them aware that;
by ‘liberating’ them from the headscarf, they are in turn oppressing their
right to religious freedom. However, it seems that not much will be done by the
state, and it is now up to the universities to apply or defy this ruling.
This ruling
does not come as a surprise when looking at the anti-Muslim climate of
neighbouring countries such as France. The banning of the headscarf in
educational institutions and for public servants has been the centre of many
controversies and protests within France. Verbal and physical abuse is common
to a woman wearing a headscarf in France, and although this abuse has been
caught by the eye of social media platforms and many have spoken up in defence
of the Muslim women, the French government have remained adamant in their
decision to enforce this ban, classifying it as being in line with its
officially secular state.
The rise in
secularisation and right-wing governments have only exacerbated the
Islamophobic atmosphere of our society, and the circulation of negative
rhetoric regarding the hijab has only spread further. Muslims need to work
together to eradicate this rhetoric of oppression and negate the claims that
the hijab restricts liberty because it is far from reality.
Our
community should work to empower the women who are degraded by being forced to
remove their headscarf and help to increase the awareness of the beauty behind
the Veil. By enforcing these rulings, governments are acknowledging and
affirming these stereotypes which only help to exclude and isolate Muslim women
from their societies.
It is
imperative that Muslims strive to be the face of this move towards change and
the freedom of religious expression as the oppression that Muslim women face
today is a result of these misconceptions and the xenophobic atmosphere in our
world today.
Original
Headline: Belgium’s Hijab Ban: Islamophobia and the Far-Right in Western Europe
Source: The Muslim Vibe
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/oppression-that-muslim-women-belgium/d/122558