Hijabophobia

A ruling by European Union's top law court, European Court of Justice, on 14 March 2017[lower-alpha 1] allowed the employers "to ban staff from wearing visible religious symbols"[10] such as the hijab. The decision was criticized for disguising what Muslims described as "a direct attack on women wearing hijabs at work". As a result, by 2017, two women from France and Belgium were dismissed from work since they refused to remove their hijabs. Samira Achbita, a woman from Belgium, was dismissed from working in her company (G4S) as a result of the court ruling.[10] OpenDemocracy argued that the ruling was ostensibly based on the employer's wish "to portray a position of neutrality", and hence the court ruling was a normalization of hijabophobia.[11] Al Jazeera described the ruling as setting precedent for a "de facto prevention" of employment for Muslim women wearing the hijab.[12]

There are instances where Muslim dress have been banned in public spaces. The Muslim burqa was banned by local laws in Spain in 2010, though these laws began to be overturned by the Spanish Supreme Court in 2013.[13] Similarly, in 2016, France's Council of State began to overrule a ban on the burkini by over thirty French municipalities as Islamophobic.[14] FIFA's ban of the head cover in 2011–2014 is an example of hijabophobia.[2] In 2018, Austria banned full-face coverings in order to limit the visibility of orthodox Islam. This was criticized by police who were put in the position of charging people for wearing smog and ski masks. France and Belgium have enacted a similar ban since 2011. In 2015, a partial ban was introduced in the Netherlands and the German parliament banned face coverings while driving in September 2017.[15] Hijabophobia also influences the hospitality industry in Malaysia. Hotels believe employees that wear the headdress appear less professional; therefore causing islamophobic policies to be implemented.[16]

In 1994, the French Ministry for Education sent out recommendations to teachers and headmasters to ban Islamic veil in educational institutions. According to a 2019 study by the Institute of Labor Economics, more girls with a Muslim background born after 1980 graduated from high school after the ban was introduced.[17]

In October 2018, Austria banned headscarves for children in kindergarten. The ban was motivated by protecting children from family pressure to wear the headscarf.[18] According to an Austrian teacher's union, a ban for pupils aged up to 14 years should be considered as that is the religious legal age (German: religionsmündig).[18]

In Quebec, public servants including teachers are banned from wearing religious garments such as a kippa, hijab or turban at work.[19]

In 2019, Decathlon, a French sportswear brand, made the decision to not sell hijab sportswear in France, following opposition to the clothing line from figures such as health minister Agnes Buzyn, who voiced her distaste for the garment on a radio show.[20]

Hijabophobia has led female athletes to be ineligible in sporting events due to wearing a Hijab. One example is FIFA's ‘ hijab ban’ crisis. The Iranian women's national soccer team was disqualified from the 2012 Olympics because the players wore Hijabs.[21]