Hijab Research Articles

Global Judicial Governance of Cultural Diversity: The Role of the European Judge

How to manage a growing cultural and religious diversity with its origin in human mobility across the globe is a pressing theme in Europe. A process of shrinking tolerance of diversity in favour of the imposition of prohibitions of certain acts grounded in culture is now observed. Both female genital mutilation involving unjustified violence against children and women and other cultural practices believed to be oppressive, such as the full-face Islamic veil in public places, have been criminalized. This development prompts the question about the role of European judges in the enforcement and review of these bans. More generally, it brings into focus the prospects of judicial governance in times of diversity, whether it is to provide justice in individual cases, protect fundamental rights, or promote transparency in law-making processes. In this light, the aim of this paper is to examine the nature and degree of European judicial engagement with cases involving law-breaking depending on cultural differences. Of main interest are the challenges currently facing European judges in the process of judging and sanctioning the new crimes as well as in the performance of judicial review. (Less)

Introduction: Still French?

In a provocative 1985 cover story featuring the face of Marianne obscured by an Islamic veil, Le Figaro magazine asked: ‘Serons-nous encore français dans 30 ans?’ With those thirty years now spanned, where does France stand in relation to the fears, challenges and opportunities associated with changing perceptions of ethnic and cultural diversity? Where do the most significant challenges to ‘Frenchness’ now lie? In Islamism? In the disadvantaged multi-ethnic banlieues? In European integration? In American hegemony? Is ‘Frenchness’ itself, championed by political elites under the banner of ‘l'exception culturelle’, an outmoded concept, destined to wither in the face of transnational forces? In addressing these questions, contributors to this special issue of Nottingham French Studies suggest that while French political and intellectual elites have generally been reluctant to embrace change, the participation of immigrant minorities in the life of the nation has been accepted more readily in fields of popular culture such as cinema and sport.

Hijab and “Hitchhiking”: A Field Study

In the West, the style of a woman’s dress is perceived as a cue to her sexual behavior and influences the likelihood that a man will initiate conversation with the woman or offer her assistance. Hijab, or Islamic veiling, varies in the extent to which it reveals skin and body shape; the style a woman adopts affects her attractiveness to men. To test whether women who wear more liberal or conservative forms of hijab are more likely to be offered help by men, we observed Iranian motorists in a “hitchhiking” situation. Here, we show that a young female confederate, standing beside a road and in view of motorists but not actively soliciting assistance, was more likely to be offered a ride when she wore a headscarf and close-fitting garments (liberal dress) rather than a full body veil (chador, conservative dress). When the woman wore liberal dress, 21.4 % of motorists offered a ride; only 3.9 % of motorists offered a ride to the woman when she wore conservative dress—a significant difference. All drivers were men. This small to medium effect is substantially larger than those reported in similar studies in Europe and extends previous research on male helping behavior and female attractiveness to Iran, a nation where courtship behavior and dress are constrained by stricter social mores and laws than apply in the West.

Religious Symbolism and the Resilience of Liberal Constitutionalism: On the Federal German Constitutional Court's Second Head Scarf Decision

The second decision of the German Federal Constitutional Court on the Islamic headscarf declares a general ban on headscarf to be unconstitutional and, in particular, a violation of freedom of religion. This case note examines whether this decision is an ill-conceived weakening of a religiously neutral state or, to the contrary, an encouraging manifestation of a liberal constitutional order that takes its aspirations in a highly contested area of law seriously.

Intercultural Feminist Practices in Italy: Challenging Stereotyped and Othering Images of Migrant Women

Feminist postcolonial authors criticised the tendency of mainstream western feminism to represent 'third world' women as necessarily less emancipated than western women and to describe their cultural practices in an othering way, without holding their own culture up to the same scrutiny. From this idea stems a paternalistic and patronising attitude that locates western women in a “position to liberate their less fortunate sisters, especially those in the 'Third World'”. (hooks, 2000: 45). In light of these reflections, this article investigates to what extent selected women’s intercultural associations in Italy have been able to counter dominant discourses that see migrant women as necessarily needy and deprived or as a sign of cultural difference. The research confronts the associations' mission statements with the practices and relationships that emerged from the interviews. It focuses first on power sharing within the associations and the relevance of patronizing attitudes on the part of Italian-born women. Secondly the article explores how associations addressed the notion of cultural difference by focusing on the specific issues of Islamic veiling practices and female genital mutilations. Finally it investigates the possible value of cross-cultural comparisons on practices detrimental to women in the promotion of intercultural feminist practices.

La vuelta del concepto de Deutsche Leitkultur a raíz de los actuales planes de integración de los inmigrantes en Alemania

En este artículo se presenta el debate jurídico actual en Alemania sobre el concepto de la integración de los inmigrantes y de los nuevos naturalizados como alemanes. Los juristas se dividen entre los que consideran que integrarse significa asimilarse en la cultura dominante alemana (deutsche Leitkultur) y quienes entienden la integración como respeto a los valores constitucionales, siguiendo la línea de Rudolf Smend, creador de ese término. La reforma del Código penal alemán del año 2000 con los nuevos criterios de adquisición de la nacionalidad alemana, los nuevos planes de integración y el modelo constitucional alemán se basan en un modelo intercultural integrador y no en un modelo asimilacionista etnicista. Sin embargo, la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Constitucional alemán y de tribunales administrativos demuestran la división existente entre los jueces cuando se enfrentan a la tolerancia y concordancia de las prácticas de los ciudadanos alemanes de religión musulmana. Se hace una referencia a la polémica sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional alemán en el año 2003 sobre el uso del velo islámico en profesoras, caso Ludin, y la reciente sentencia de 13 de marzo de 2015 sobre el mismo tema.<br />

Disobedient subjects – constructing the subject, the state and religion in the European Court of Human Rights

In this article, I analyse how the law participates in the (re)production process of the subject, the state and religion, and how the law's indefiniteness allows various constructions of them all. In the first part of the article I discuss the Islamic headscarf cases of the European Court of Human Rights as examples of how the discursive constructions of the state and the subject can be challenged by means of disobedience. Here the focus is particularly on Turkey and on France, where the principle of secularism is largely regarded as the basis of the republic and of the national identity. The law provides an arena where the disobedient subject and the state can challenge and re-establish the prevailing conceptualizations of the subject. In the second part of the article I address the Court's alleged Islamophobia. I explore how the constructions of the state and the subject contribute to the way religion is framed in the Court's argumentation in relation to the freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The analysis shows that religion can be framed as a personal belief system, a cultural tradition, or politics which, in turn, affects the course of legal argumentation. I conclude that the Court can plausibly be accused of Christian bias, but that this conclusion is often based on insufficient analysis of the Court's case law. This article contributes to the interdisciplinary discussion on the headscarf bans from the socio-legal perspective. The aim is to explore what, besides providing legal solutions, the law does.

Ban on the Hijab at School: Human Rights Against Migration Background

Russia has only recently faced the problem of wearing hijabs in educational organizations within the last three years, while in Western Europe the debate on this issue has not subsided for several decades. Due to the fact that the common position has not been worked out, it seems important to examine the compliance of the ban on wearing Islamic headscarves in educational institutions with international instruments enshrining the right to education and freedom of conscience and religion, to analyze the position of the Russian Federation through the example of specific legal measures undertaken to solve the situation within the Stavropol region and the latest document published by the Interreligious Council of Russia (issued on March 26, 2015), as well as to analyze the opinion of the European Court of Human Rights stated in the case "Leyla Sahin against Turkey" (2005). A separate issue on the topic concerns the proportionality of the rules on hijabs in their application to and their effect on local and migrant populations of certain states. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n4s1p509

Branding the Islamic Village: Modesty and Identity in Yogyakarta Kauman Village, Indonesia

Having served as the center of Islamic preaching in the early-twentieth-century Java, the Kauman village of Yogyakarta preserves its brand as an Islamic village. It was where the first Indonesia's Islamic movement, the Muhammadiyah (1912), and its female wing, the ‘Aisyiyah (1922), were founded, developing into national and even international levels, and surviving until today. This paper investigates the use of the Islamic gender ideology in maintaining the Kauman's branding as an Islamic village, and how women have been involved as members of the Islamic organizations and the community and participate themselves in the attempt to maintain the village's image as an Islamic village. The research finds that the hijab practice is central to the place-branding. It shows that the prevailing Islamic definition of gender differences is constructed, distributed, and imposed through the ‘Aisyiyah's recommendation of the hijab (the Islamic veiling) throughout the community in support of the place-branding.

Scarf pin inhalation: clinical characteristics and surgical treatment.

ObjectiveScarf pin inhalation is becoming a frequent accident among young Moroccan woman who wears islamic veil. The aim of the study is to highlight indications, principles and challenges of surgical removal of that particular foreign body.MethodsTwenty-eight patients were hospitalized in Thoracic Surgery department of Ibn Sina Hospital at Rabat between January 2008 and June 2013 for surgical removal of a pin scarf after unsuccessful endoscopy.ResultsMean age was 20 years. Inhalation was accidental in all cases. Average interval between inhalation and surgery was 10 days. Penetration syndrome was found in 82% of patients. Pin was located at the left tracheo-bronchial tree in 53.5% of cases and at the right one in 46.4%. All were operated by thoracotomy. Surgery was conservative in all cases, and postoperative course was uneventful.ConclusionIn case of failure endoscopic treatment, surgery remains the only alternative. It must be as conservative as possible. Short interval between inhalation accident and surgery prevents parenchymal resection.

Living Together in an Age of Religious Diversity: Lessons from Baby Loup and SAS

This article explores two recent decisions by the European Court of Human Rights and the French Cour de cassation respectively: SAS v France –a challenge to the French ban on the full-face covering in the public space and Baby Loup –in which a private nursery employee was dismissed for refusing to remove her non-face covering Islamic veil. This article demonstrates that whilst the two decisions share many features, the European Court of Human Rights only offers a semi-support to the French suspicions towards religion. Beyond French borders, the article argues that despite its flawed legal basis (the concept of living together) and its concerning use of proportionality tests, of discrimination protection and of margin of appreciation doctrine, the SAS judgment adopts a balanced approach which may pave the way for a less confrontational method of resolution of majority/minority conflicts over the place of religion in Europe.

Ekspozycja chusty islamskiej przedmiotem rozstrzygnięć Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka

The aim of the article is the analysis of the selected jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights concerning manifestation of one’s religion or beliefs because of wearing Islamic headscarf. The Author – according to the chronological order – takes into consideration the following judgments/decisions of the European Court of Human Rights: Decision Dahlab v. Switzerland, Judgment Leyla Sahin v. Turkey and Judgment Dogru v. France. The presented article contains the characteristic of the circumstances of the case, the relevant domestic law, the proceedings and Court decision and finally – interpretation of the judgment.

Assimilation et transferts sémantiques des emprunts lexicaux dans le discours médiatique

Assimilation and semantic transfers of lexical borrowings in media discourse
 The word hijab can be presented as a xénisme, but it knew a semantic change in media discourse, the integration process allows to see its evolution in relation to the historical, cultural and ideological events and of course political. The original reference, the garment (clothing) is not present in the Hexagone; That is why, by metonymy slip, media discourse such as lexicographical discourse retains, at the semantic level, just a portion of the garment (clothing, the veil. This is what some suggest discursive denominations. Hijab, at least in this metonymic sense, denominates not a non-existent reality in France, but a new reality; the label of "xénisme" appears once in partially inadequate. For their part, the words scarf and veil expanded their polysemy in the form of semantic neologisms as they can name this new reality; the Islamic veil, as well as to the Islamic headscarf.

Islam and the legal enforcement of morality

Over 60 years ago, British high court judge Patrick Devlin and legal philosopher H.L.A. Hart fought out a famous debate over the legal enforcement of morality, which was generated by the question of whether homosexuality should be legalized or not. Jurists agree that this debate was won by Hart, also evidenced in the fact that the state has since been retreating from its previous role of moral watchdog. I argue in this article that the two most conflicted and essentially unresolved issues in the integration of Islam, the regulation of the female body and of free speech, have reopened this debate anew, pushing the liberal state toward the legal regulation of morality, thus potentially putting at risk its liberalness. I use the Hart-Devlin debate as a template for comparing and contrasting the Muslim quest for restricting free speech with the host-society quest for restricting the Islamic veil. Accordingly, there is a double threat to liberalism, which this paper brings into view in tandem, one originating from Islam and another from a hypertrophied defense of liberalism.

Outsiders Within: Framing and Regulation of Headscarves in France, Germany and The Netherlands

While women in Europe who wear the Islamic headscarf are generally seen as outsiders who do not belong to the nation, some countries are more tolerant towards the wearing of headscarves than others. France, Germany and the Netherlands have developed different policies regarding veiling. In this paper we describe how headscarves became regulated in each of these countries and discuss the ways in which French, Dutch and German politicians have deliberated the issue. The paper is based on a content analysis of parliamentary debates on veiling in France (1989–2007), Germany (1997–2007) and the Netherlands (1985–2007). Our aim is to discuss what these national political debates reveal about the way in which the social inclusion of Islamic women in (or rather exclusion from) the nation is perceived in these three countries. Our claim is that veiling arouses opposition because it challenges national self-understandings. Yet, because nations have different histories of nation building, these self-understandings are challenged in various ways and hence, governments have responded to headscarves with diverse regulation. While we did find national differences, we also discovered that the political debates in the three countries are converging over time. The trend is towards increasingly gendered debates and more restrictive headscarf policies. This, we hypothesize, is explained by international polarization around Islam and the strength of the populist anti-immigrant parties across Europe.

The Hijab Effect: An exploratory study of the influence of hijab and religiosity on perceived attractiveness of Muslim women in the United States and the United Arab Emirates

The “Halo Effect” suggests that people impart positive traits to others based on initial impressions of characteristics such as physical attractiveness. In Muslim communities, this phenomenon may be extrapolated to the positive evaluation of women who wear the Islamic headscarf (or hijab). The present study focuses on the “Hijab Effect” and its impact on the relationship between Islamic religiosity and perceived attractiveness. South Asian Muslim women living in the United States and the United Arab Emirates were surveyed. Hijabis rated themselves as more religious than nonhijabis. Additionally, Muslim women, regardless of their personal hijab status, rated hijabis as more attractive than nonhijabis. Results further indicated that religiosity, controlling for personal hijab status, did not have an independent influence on perceptions of hijabis in either the United States or the United Arab Emirates. However, in the United Arab Emirates, women who were more religious did rate nonhijabis as less attractive. Discussion of the analysis focuses on the possible factors involved in the complex relationship between Muslim women and the hijab.

WITHDRAWN : Corps étrangers respiratoires chez l’enfant : expérience algérienne de 2624 cas

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to analyze the epidemiological, clinical, radiological, and endoscopic characteristics of pediatric foreign body aspiration in Algeria. METHODS: In this retrospective study, the results of 2624 children younger than 18 years admitted to our department for respiratory foreign body removal between 1989 and 2012 were reviewed. Most of them underwent ambulatory rigid bronchoscopy. RESULTS: The children (62 males [34%] and 37 [65%] females) were aged 4 months to 18 years with 66% between 1 and 3 years of age. Choking was related in 65% of the cases. The delay between aspiration and removal was 2-8 days in 65.8% and within 24 h in 9.2%. In most cases, the children arrived with cough, laryngeal or bronchial signs, and unilateral reduction of vesicular murmur. The examination was normal in 13%. The most common radiologic finding was pulmonary air trapping (40.7%). The aspirated bodies were organic in 66 (7%), dominated by peanuts, while sunflower seeds, beans, and ears of wheat were the most dangerous. In the other cases, they were metallic or plastic such as pen caps and recently scarf pins. Over the last decade, metallic foreign bodies are dominated by scarf pins in Algeria. This accident is mainly related to wearing the Islamic headscarf. Our first case presented in 2003 and since then we have compiled 169 patients. Endoscopic removal by rigid bronchoscopy was successful and complete in 97%. Cases with extraction failure (3%) limited to certain foreign bodies, all of them inorganic, were assigned to surgery. The complications related to the endoscopic procedure were 0.29% with a mortality of 0.26%. CONCLUSION: Foreign body aspiration is a real public health problem in Algeria. Its frequency is high enough to alert health authorities. The characteristics of these domestic events are those of intermediate income countries with a wide range of foreign bodies. The best way to manage this is an early diagnosis and rigid bronchoscopy removal under general anesthesia used by fully trained staff. The prevention of this domestic accident should consider the population's lifestyle and cultural habits for maximum efficacy. Language: fr

Book Review: European Non-Discrimination Law: A Comparison of EU Law and the ECHR in the Field of Non-Discrimination and Freedom of Religion in Public Employment with an Emphasis on the Islamic Headscarf Issue. Cambridge: Intersentia, 2012. 378 pages. ISBN: 978-1-78068-126-9. EUR 75.

Book Review: <i>European Non-Discrimination Law: A Comparison of EU Law and the ECHR in the Field of Non-Discrimination and Freedom of Religion in Public Employment with an Emphasis on the Islamic Headscarf Issue.</i> Cambridge: Intersentia, 2012. 378 pages. ISBN: 978-1-78068-126-9. EUR 75.

Words and Walls, Texts and Textiles: A Conversation

The authors explore how the multi-media artist Farniyaz Zaker uses words to establish connections between different kinds of materials in her work, and how her work makes words material. Zaker’s conception of dress as ‘microcosmic dwelling places’ enables the authors to think about veiling practices, Islams and gender not only in relation to the familiar domains of state, piety, subjectivity, consumption, capitalism, public and private (for instance), but also with regard to some less self-evidently relevant contexts. Light, architecture and cinema, as well as walls, windows, curtains, coffins, tents and screens, are among them. It is by way of these multiple refractions that the authors are able to return to those debates that conceive of Islamic veiling in terms of embodied, material practices and to support and develop further reasons for an understanding of that most exceptionally charged piece of material, the veil, as more than a sign of …

Sarah Haverkort-Speekenbrink: European Non-Discrimination Law – A Comparison of EU Law and the ECHR in the Field of Non-Discrimination and Freedom of Religion in Public Employment with an Emphasis on the Islamic Headscarf Issue

Sarah Haverkort-Speekenbrink: European Non-Discrimination Law – A Comparison of EU Law and the ECHR in the Field of Non-Discrimination and Freedom of Religion in Public Employment with an Emphasis on the Islamic Headscarf Issue