To Veil Or Not To Veil: Examining the Dynamics of Race and Sexuality within the French Hijab Ban

Abstract

In April of 2021, the French Senate chose to introduce added expansive legislation relating to the visibility of religious dress in public spaces to bolster the country’s secular commitments. Though the existence of religious symbols in public spaces remains a matter of controversy, France’s legislative body has over the past two-decades introduced a string of legislation which has a disproportionate effect of Muslim women and girls. Namely, the current proposed bill would ban the use of hijabs in public spaces for girls under the age of 18, and this severely restrictive decision has gathered both national and international condemnation within feminist circles as a perverse attempt at policing women’s bodies. Therefore, this paper hopes to contribute to the rich field of intersectional feminist writing, drawing on the work of black feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw, and provide added consideration of religion and sexuality. More specifically, in addressing the unique positionality of Muslim women this paper identifies the interacting dynamics of gendered orientalism and women’s sexual agency in Western neo-liberal states promotes further marginalisation and victimisation