At the beginning of April 2021, the French Parlament decided to debate about a bill that forbids wearing the hijab - the headscarf Muslim women wear - for girls under 18 years. Concerning women’s rights and religious freedom, this new law symbolizes an alarming progress in France’s growing islamophobia. 

This new law is even more worrying when one considers that the age of sexual consent in France is currently at the age of 15 - obviously, the hijab ban is in consequence not about the protection of minors, but in fact only embodies a restriction of women's freedom of choice under the guise of secularity.

Furthermore, muslim mothers wearing the hijab will be prohibited from accompanying their children on school trips, which is another measure to sideline the Muslim population. The upcoming ban on halal slaughter in summer also contributes to this strategy.
We therefore demand an immediate stop to the targeted exclusion of Muslim people by the French government and the restoration of a woman's fundamental right to decide for herself what to wear! 
No matter whether Jew, Christian or Muslim - every citizen should have the right to live out his or her religion without being restricted by social or even political restrictions - even underage girls deserve this fundamental human right to be able to live out their future freely and without worry - even in the undenominational state of France.