In this event with the European Network Against Racism, the Open Society Justice Initiative will present a new report on restrictions on Muslim women’s dress among the twenty eight EU member states.
Laws, local regulations, and formal practices prohibiting the wearing of religious dress—in employment, education, services, and in public space—result in Muslim women being disproportionality prevented from exercising their rights. Analysis shows that these restrictions stem from openly racist and discriminatory political narratives coming from both far-right and mainstream political discourses. The report's findings identified that only eight member states have laws restricting Muslim women’s dress.
In EU countries that are known to have high standards against discrimination and to promote pluralism and inclusion like Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and others, there is now increasing pressure to introduce religious dress bans that restrict freedoms and exclude religious minorities from society. Campaigns for such laws and regulations have failed in many places, and where they have been adopted, they have faced political and legal resistance by Muslim women, grassroots civil society, national courts, and even national governments.
Speakers
-
Maryam H'madoun
Speaker
Maryam H’madoun is a policy officer for Equality and Inclusion with the Open Society Justice Initiative.
-
Laura Bingham
Speaker
Laura Bingham is a legal officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative.
-
Simon Cox
Speaker
Until December 2019, Simon Cox was a migration lawyer at the Open Society Justice Initiative.
-
Malin Bjork
Speaker
Malin Bjork is a member of the European Parliament, Confederal Group of the European United Left—Nordic Green Left.
-
Soraya Post
Speaker
Soraya Post is a member of the European Parliament, Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D).
-
Ibtissam Abaaziz
Speaker
Ibtissam Abaaziz is a sociologist and founding member of Stichting Meld Islamofobie, the Netherlands.
-
-
Julie Pascoët
Speaker
Julie Pascoët is a senior advocacy officer at the European Network Against Racism.
-
Leysan Keller
Speaker
Leysan Keller is co-founder of the Initiative with a Headscarf, Germany.
-
Yasmina Akhandaf
Speaker
Yasmina Akhandaf is founding member of Baas Over Eigen Hoofd (BOEH!).
-
Javid Rana
Speaker
Javid Rana works for the Metropolitan Police Service in London.
-
Sajjad Karim
Speaker
Sajjad Karim is a member of the European Parliament, European Conservatives and Reformists Group.
-
Read more
Stronger Together
Q&A: How Migrant Women in the UK Are Joining Together in the Era of COVID-19
Few people in Britain have been more upended by the pandemic than migrant women. Thankfully, grassroots organizations like the Latin American Women’s Rights Service are helping this community find solidarity and strength.
Voices
The Problem with Criminalizing Sex Workers’ Clients
Kate McGrew, coordinator at Sex Workers Alliance Ireland, explains how labor rights can protect sex workers in ways criminalization can’t.
Voices
Elevating the Voices of Women and Children in the Refugee Crisis
Instead of finding protection and relief on European soil, refugee women and children have been trapped in makeshift camps—some of which resemble prisons—without access to adequate food, sanitation, water, or safety.