Age Of Consent For Sex In France Could Soon Be Lower Than For Wearing The Hijab
The age of consent for sex in France could soon be lower than the age at which women are allowed to wear a hijab, due to efforts to ban the head covering for those under the age of 18.
The French Senate voted last month in favour of the ‘prohibition in the public space of any conspicuous religious sign by minors and of any dress or clothing which would signify an interiorization of women over men’.
Muslim women who choose to cover their hair for religious reasons usually do so from the age of puberty, which for the most part is before the age of 18.
The ‘separatism bill’ voted for by the Senate largely aims to fight against the inferiorisation of women, but the law banning the hijab contradicts this as it assumes that those who choose to wear headscarves are being oppressed and strips women of their right to choose.
Per The Independent, critics have argued that the ban is grounded in anti-Islam rhetoric, as it disregards Islamic religious principles and values.
Those opposing the law have also noted that should it come into place, it would make the age of consent for a hijab – a symbol of their religious faith – higher than the age of consent for sex, which will be set at 15 according to a bill backed by French MPs last month.
a year agoCriticising the bill, one Twitter user commented:
currently in france there has been a ban put for Muslim women under the age of 18 to not wear a Hijab in public. although this bill isn’t new they are arguing it would “help” young muslim women and stop them from feeling pressured to wear something that is THEIR choice to make.
The age of consent to have sex is 15 (and if under 15 it’s okay as long as it was consensual) in france but young girls embracing their culture have to be 18?…
it all comes down to the islamophobia in France as they banned burqas and tried to ban halal meat which is all a part of a peaceful religion and culture that harms no one.
Muslim headscarves and other ‘conspicuous’ religious symbols have been banned in French state schools since 2004, the BBC reports, meaning that young women who wish to wear the coverings are already limited in the areas in which they can do so.
Amani al-Khatahtbeh, activist and founder of Muslim Women’s Day, expressed her disappointment at the bill as she assured French Muslims that organisation would be fighting ‘with you against the globalized Islamophobia that brought us here’.
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