This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at FIU chapter.

On March 30th, the French Senate voted in favor of legislation that – if passed by the France National Assembly – would ban Muslim girls under the age of 18 from wearing a hijab in public. The supposed justification by the French government for this legislation is to combat Islamist separatism. However, if passed, this legislation would be doing just that. This legislation also has the power to ban Muslim women from wearing burkinis in public swimming pools and prohibit hijab-wearing mothers from accompanying their children’s school trips.

France has one of the largest Muslim communities in the Western world, and this legislation violently targets more than four million of them. Stripping young girls, women, and people’s right to choose whether or not they decide to wear a hijab does not constitute government involvement. Yet, it continues to happen.

Woman in hijab enjoying the summer breeze under trees — Photo by Ifrah Akhter from Unsplash / Original illustration by Her Campus Media

In September 2004, France passed a law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools. Despite covering all religions by banning Christian, Sikh, Jewish, and other religious symbols, this law still disproportionately targeted Muslim students. In April 2011, France became the first European country to ban women from wearing niqab’s, burka’s, and other face coving veils in public spaces. Islamophobic French laws perpetuating discrimination towards Muslims, especially women. According to the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, which was dissolved by a decree of the Council of Ministers of France, found that 70% of Muslim women were targets of Islamophobic acts.

The ongoing violations against Muslim’s autonomy have prompted serval pushbacks in the form of protest. The hashtag #HandsOffMyHijab has gone viral and continues to spread throughout all social media platforms. To advocate for women’s rights means to advocate for all women and bring attention to the issues that impact the most marginalized. We must as a collective speak out against acts of Islamophobia and xenophobia both domestically and internationally.