This week, the European Court of Justice ruled that employers are allowed to ban employees from wearing hijabs. The ruling is the end result of a 10-year legal dispute that started when receptionist Samira Achbita was fired from her job at a company called G4S just because she wore her hijab.
NPR reports, “When she was hired in 2003, Achbita did not wear a hijab to work. But when she told her bosses three years later that she wanted to begin wearing one, they refused to allow it, citing an unwritten rule meant to present neutrality to the firm’s clients.”
Two months after the onset of this strife, G4S created a new company policy which says, “Employees are prohibited, in the workplace, from wearing any visible signs of their political, philosophical or religious beliefs and/or from engaging in any observance of such beliefs.”Although the official policy was approved on May 29, 2006, Achbita was terminated one day before the rule officially went into effect.
The EU Court of Justice claims that the company’s policy, “…does not introduce a difference of treatment that is directly based on religion or belief.” The EU went on to elaborate that the rule “refers to the wearing of visible signs of political, philosophical or religious beliefs and therefore covers any manifestation of such beliefs without distinction.”Â
However, the incident that sparked this controversial ruling is suspiciously prejudiced; seeing as G4S curated the policy that bans the display of any signs or political or religious beliefs shortly after Achbita decided to wear her hijab.
Though the court ruling claims not to discriminate against any visible religious representation in the workplace, the ruling does discriminate against the Muslim community. As reported by ABC News, Amnesty International said, “Today’s disappointing rulings…give greater leeway to employers to discriminate against women—and men—on the grounds of religious belief.”
The ruling allows organizations to prohibit employees from wearing any signs of religious affiliations, which makes it much easier for hiring managers to discriminate against prospective employees who choose to wear any religious garments to an interview. Because religious headscarves are often seen in the form of burkas, niqabs and hijabs, the ruling implicitly targets Muslim citizens within the EU, which makes up 28 different European countries.
However, not everyone disproves of the court ruling. France’s presidential candidate, François Fillon, told The Guardian that the ruling is “an immense relief, not just for thousands of companies but also for their workers.” As of 2015, over 18.8 million Muslim citizens reside within the European Union. Because companies now have the power to fire employees based on their decision to wear religious headscarves, a considerable percentage of Muslim citizens could struggle with poverty.
In France, the Muslim community already struggles with socio-economic issues, as Muslim citizens make up approximately 60 to 70 percent of the country’s prison inmates, despite the fact that Muslim citizens only make up around less than eight percent of the country’s population. Accordingly, fewer job opportunities will strain the France’s Muslim community even further.