France is full of contradictions, especially when it comes to the headscarf. It is well known that France has banned both the face veil and the hair veil from daily life. Usually claiming that banning the veil is meant to protect Muslim women and prevent separatism because obviously, the veil isn’t French. While politicians and often the general public (like teachers or shopkeepers) tend to claim the veil is oppressive or Islamist or whatever, the fashion industry of France often takes the veil and praises non-Muslim women for wearing it.
Recently Julia Fox appeared on Vogue France’s Instagram wearing a scarf on her head resembling a vintage fashionista or the queen of England. If this scarf style is such a classic style why is the internet upset with vogue France? Well, Vogue France has been quoted as saying “Yes to the headscarf!”. The headscarf, as already mentioned, is banned in France. Ghufrane Mounir in their article French Vogue dubbed ‘hyprocritical’ for Instagram post praising Julia Fox’s headscarf states, “The post comes just days after the French senate voted to prohibit hijabs from being worn during sporting events, following an amendment proposed by the right-wing political party Les Republicains claiming “headscarves undermine French values and jeopardize athlete safety”.”
This isn’t the first time that the French fashion scene has shown hypocritical attitudes towards the veil. It appears in France when a Muslim woman chooses to wear a veil, whether that be face or hair then the veil becomes unacceptable even if they wear their veil similar to Julia Fox or even the Queen of England.
During the Paris Fashion Week of 2019, rapper Cardi B wore a head-to-toe blue, green, and white floral print outfit. The outfit included a headscarf, a jacket with a belt, skirt, gloves, and shoes all topped off with a face cover that covered the entire face. The entire outfit was composed of the same material. Cardi B seemed oblivious to the fact that Muslim women in France were banned from covering their faces in public.
Cardi B did not sexualize the veil, neither did Julia Fox. Instead, the critique on these outfit choices is that these women can walk freely in France, while Muslim women can’t. Even more so these women are praised by fashion houses for being daring and bold, while at the same time demonizing Muslim women (and other modest dressers) for wearing the exact same thing.
The Express Tribune points out that according to the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 2018, the “French law disproportionately harmed the petitioner’s right to manifest their religious beliefs…rather than protecting fully veiled women, [it] could have the opposite effect of confining them to their homes, impeding their access to public services and marginalizing them.” The anger towards the outfit Cardi B wore was not directed at her, but at France’s discriminatory law and towards those who sat there cheering her on but continue to deny Muslim women the right to dress the exact same way. For example, one Muslim female student leader – in France – was taking part in her school’s hearing of the National Assembly when a female member of Parliament decided to walk out because the hijab the Muslim girl wore violated her “feminist” beliefs.
These walkouts are not as uncommon as the reader may think, in fact, there are many cases of female politicians or female workers of non-Muslim origin refusing to begin a school tour because a parent of a child was wearing a hijab. Often these women act very irrationally, the best way to describe said reactions is to simply state that these women went full “karen”; crying, flinging themselves on the ground, throwing a child tantrum, calling the police, etc. All these tantrums are because the veil somehow prevents the woman from doing her job and explaining the said job, that somehow seeing a veil makes her become infantile.
Cardi and Julia Fox did not explain why they wore the outfits that they did, nor did they address the issue of the veil ban in France. Nor should they have to explain. What their fashion statements did was show the hypocrisy of French law.
It cannot but be explained in numerous different facets and details that the animosity and bans on veiling, Islamic, have deep roots in Islamophobia and colonialism (Western). The modern convection against the piece of so-called clothing item has many nuances.
In India, at the moment girls are prevented from going to school with the hijab. Despite India having one of the largest populations of Muslims, had an Islamic Empire, history of Islam, and having no previous issues with Islam. The modern law of 2022 is highly connected to Hindu nationalism, rather than Indian secularism.
Secularism is often given as an excuse for discriminatory laws around the world that target Muslim minorities; and Islamic practices within Muslim majority countries.
There are some who claim the expulsion of the veil, and all its variations liberate women. This concept stems from a complex history in the Muslim world of purdah (harem). Deeply connected to early feminists within the so-called Muslim world. Yet it is also deeply associated with colonization and the emergence of modern islamophobia, as well as white feminism.
There are a few concepts related to the anti-veiling sentiment that do not have roots in Islamophobia nor colonialism perse. However, as authors like Sabrina Strings (author of Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia) show, many modern concepts are deeply rooted in racism, anti-Semitism, and islamophobia. The very foundations of the modern world are built on the concepts of Western peoples trying to differentiate themselves from the “other” and to glorify themselves.