Iran and France are two countries fighting or burning hijab because Muslim women wish to have the liberation to decide whether they want to wear hijab or not.
The Senate of France passed the law in 2010 to ban the clothing and materials that covered the face where the hijab covering the head was allowed. In April 2011, the first European country to ban the full-face veil in public spaces.
Recently, In October 2022, the government of Switzerland passed a law draft stating that a fine of $1000 should be imposed who violated the law of face covering. The French politicians have favored this amendment and indicated that it would bring secularism back, whereas the conservatives and liberals have slammed the amendment calling it sexist and Islamophobic. The fine on the headscarf in France is 150 euros. The European Union's top court allowed the ban on headscarves at work.
Stanislas Guerini, the co-founder of Macron's political party, took to Twitter and criticized Sarah Zemmahi, who wore a headscarf for a campaign poster. The support for Zemmahi was withdrawn when Guerini tweeted that wearing ostentatious religious symbols was against the party's values. LREM will remove the backing from candidates who do not abide by the rules.
Guerini showed his disapproval by saying that Zemmahi won't be a part of the campaign. Zemmahi has still not passed any comment, but Naima Moutchou, the lawmaker of the political party, called it discrimination.
President Macron believes France is targeted because of secularism, freedom of expression, and the right to believe/think. Due to the Muslim extremists, Macron decided to make "French Islam" regulated by the state. In a way, it was a French form of performing Islam, for Macron believed that the Islamic practices of Muslims might not be well received; hence, French Islam is the answer for the minority communities and their recognition.
Similarly, Switzerland sent a draft to parliament seeking to implement $1000 Swiss francs on anyone who violates the hijab ban. The face veiling considered sacred for Muslim women is a choice they make for their identity. The government of Switzerland is adamant about having Burqa Ban in action.
People have stated that niqab and hijab are not regular clothing. Therefore, for a more diverse country, it is essential to ban the hijab. Approximately 100,000 petitioners signed the petition to ban the hijab and to veil in 2017. This made 51.2% of the Swiss voters who didn't oppose the ban.
The Muslim population has faced much discrimination recently, where mostly women were targeted for wearing headscarves. In western Europe, there has been a rise in far-right politics and Islamic extremism. In a survey in 2019, the findings suggested that 44.6% of the people considered Muslims a threat to France and the French identity. In the same year, 42% of Muslims were victims of discrimination, hate speech, violent attacks due to their religion, and Muslim women's will to wear headscarves.
