Women and politics: contextualizing why Iran cannot mandate that women wear head-covering in public places but Europe's high court is ok with ban on on women wearing head-covering in work places

EU companies can ban headscarfs as long as it is a general prohibition that does not discriminate against employees, Europe's top court said on Thursday, the latest ruling on an issue that has divided Europe for years.

The case concerned a Muslim woman who was told she could not wear a headscarf when she applied to do a six-week work traineeship at a Belgian company.

 

The firm said it has a neutrality rule, meaning no head covering is allowed on its premises, whether a cap, beanie or scarf. The woman took her grievance to a Belgian court, which subsequently sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).  Read source article...

The court justified its ruling arguing that "the internal rule for any economic activity that prohibits the wearing of visible religious, philosophical or spiritual signs does not constitute direct discrimination if it is applied to all employees in a general and non-discriminatory manner." 

The court said last year that EU companies could prevent employees from wearing headscarves under certain circumstances if they had to present an impartial image to clients.

In Germany, the ban on headscarves for women at work has stirred controversy for years. Most of the cases concerned female teachers who aspired to work in public schools and women trained to advance to the judiciary.

France, which has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, banned the wearing of the Islamic headscarf in public schools in 2004.

This ruling is not unique or new. By 2021, EU court ruled that Muslim women wearing headscarf can be fired. The European Union's top court said then that companies can ban Muslim female employees from wearing the headscarf finding against two cases  two women who filed cases in Germany. The two were suspended from work after wearing the hijab.

The court stated that "the prohibition of wearing anything that expresses political, philosophical or religious beliefs in the workplace may be justified by the employer's need to present a neutral image to clients or to prevent any social squabbles."

In November 2020, the German District Court of Dusseldorf announced a ban on wearing the niqab while driving, according to the "Amal Berlin" website.

The court upheld the county government's rejection of a woman's request to wear the niqab while driving, arguing that under road traffic regulations the face of the motorized vehicle driver must remain known, which does not conflict with the fundamental right to freedom of belief, noting that only the uncovered face enables the authorities to register violations traffic effectively.

In France, in 2004, the French national assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a ban on Islamic headcoverings (hijab) in state schools. The law took effect September 2, 2004, forcing more than 70,000  Muslim school girls who attend elementary and high schools to remove the hijab. Even the women and girls had swathed their heads in varying pieces of fabric were forced to remove them.

 

Since than, and in addition to France, more European states including Belgium, Italy, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, and Norway introduced and enforced restrictive laws that targeted Muslim women who would otherwise wear headcoverings.