Veiled Women Under Attack In Post-Hebdo Paris

NEW DELHI: Burqa-clad women in Paris have become the soft targets of a hatemongering fringe after the attack on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. In a recent spate of attacks, no less than seven veiled women have become victim to post-Charlie Hebdo Islamophobe.

“Veiled Muslim women are the most vulnerable to anti-Muslim attacks after the shooting at Charlie Hebdo in Paris earlier this month”, says Elsa Ray, spokesperson of the Paris-based Collective Against Islamophobia in an interview given to Womensnews.org.

Of the seven victims, at least two were severely injured.

"Veiled women are always the first victims because they are more visible," said Ray, in the same interview. The Collective, she said, is working for the rights for women to be justly heard when they are attacked for just following the dress code prescribed in their religion. Some of these women face hard time in getting their complaints lodged at the Police stations, who turn them away saying that its illegal to wear burqa here. “Its not the law, its not true”, says Ray.

However, in a law passed in 2010, its indeed illegal to wear any head covering, including scarves, niqab,balaclavas, hoods, or helmet when the person is not riding a motorbike. The decision invited fervent protests from the Muslim community, saying that they are unnecessarily targeting Muslim women as their wearing veil doesn’t impede any social cohesion.

In July last year, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld France’s decision to ban veil in public places, saying that it helps everyone to “live together”. The court’s decision came in reply to a case filed by a 24 year old French Woman, who cited that the newly introduced law is in contradiction of the six articles of the European Convention.

Meanwhile, Elsa Ray says that post- Charlie Hebdo there’s a situation of “security paranoia” among people, and it makes veiled women vulnerable to further attacks.