Published by Islamic Human Rights Commission (London), 79 pages, ISBN 978-1-903718-33-9, UK£6, February 2009.*
To download a PDF version [75 pages] please click here.
A print version can be ordered here, price UK£3.
From the Preface:
This report started life as a submission to the [UN] CEDAW committee in January 2008 on concerns regarding the violation of CEDAW by the banning of hijab and other religious symbols in schools and its social impact on Muslim women across France. Limited by time and space, and parts of the CEDAW remit, many aspects of the research and fieldwork undertaken in preparation for the report could not be presented. This report is an attempt to provide an accessible introduction to the effects of the ban on girls and women in France to a wider audience. The recommendations made to the CEDAW committee are appended for ease of reference in this report, and the text closely follows the presentation in the original submission. Added also are many extracts and case studies from the March 15th Liberation Committee’s excellent book on the ban, The headscarf ban in French schools:Truth unveiled (2005). It is our hope that this report will provide some insight for those interested in the events chronicled herein, as to their effect, and their as yet unresearched potential effects – all negative – on the well-being, opportunities and future of an untold number of women in France
From the Table of Contents
When Equality means Discrimination: The French National Institution
Against Discrimination and the Experience of Muslim women
HALDE powers
HALDE and Representation
HALDE and effective tackling of discrimination
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms for Everyone?
Are some women more equal than others?
Stereotyping and Prejudice: Muslim Women in the Political and Legal Psyche
Not one of Us: Nationality, Residency, and ID cards
Education, Education, Education: Not for Muslim Girls
After the term started
CHRONICLES of EXCLUSIONS
From The headscarf ban in French schools: Truth unveiled
Employment, Health, Law and Marriage: Not for MuslimWomen
Public Sector
Private Sector
If you are requesting a review copy please email M. Kapansa on dawud@ihrc.org and state your name, contact details and the organisation you work for.
*Page updated 4 August 2022.
