France and Religion

 The hijab is something that has been gaining a lot of attention recently because France has put a ban on it. However, that was not the only thing that received a ban. The law that made hijabs illegal to wear was a law that banned face coverings; this law included hijabs. The law did make women who were over 18 able to wear them; this still doesn't allow many people the ability to follow their religion and what they believe in. But this is not the first time something like this has happened. In 2004 France had a law passed that banned all religious items that could not be worn in public schools this included crosses, kippah and even clothing one of those being the hijab. This law however gave the schools the jurisdiction to decide if the law was being broken or not. I can't imagine not being someone the teachers had a grudge towards. Five years after in 2009 the government of France passed a law that  made it illegal to wear any kind of religious veil anywhere. And 80% of all voters supported this law. One of the junior ministers spoke to  justified it when she said "The veil is the visible symbol of the subjugation of women, and therefore has no place in the mixed, secular spaces of France's state school system.”- Fadela Amara