Hijab ban in universities supported by French prime minister

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls approves of the ban on Muslim headscarves at universities. He says that wearing headscarves, for political reasons, would oppress women.

(Reuters/Charles Platiau)A young Muslim girl has two French flags and a headband reading "Fraternity" on her headscarf while marching to protest a French ban on religious symbols in state schools, Paris.

"We should do it, but there are rules in the (French) constitution which make such a ban difficult," Valls said, as quoted by Press TV ^[1], when he was asked about whether to outlaw headscarves. In doing so, he believes that France is protecting French Muslims from the ideology of extremists.

He claims that the majority of the French citizens think that Islam is incompatible with the values of the French Republic. The French premier's choices and comments have sparked controversies and criticism from his own government.

The French Muslim community is the largest in Europe and it is infuriated with the bans made regarding the hijab. The hijab is viewed as a "conspicuous" religious symbol.

In the year 2004, France banned the Muslim veil and forbade headscarves and other religious symbols in schools and public buildings. This included schoolchildren and parents who wanted to accompany their children during class outings.

The niqab, which is a full-face veil, was also later on banned to be used in public by the government in 2011.

Suggestions by right-wing politicians, including Nicolas Sarkozy, former president, were made in the past regarding the ban of Islamic hijab in higher-education institutions.

University authorities were against this and insisted that any such prohibition should be illegal. They say that university students are "young adults with freedom of conscience and religious liberty."

"Our universities also have a lot of foreign students. Are we going to ban them access because in their culture there's a certain type of clothing?" Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said, as noted by PressTV.