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Restrictions on Muslim Women's Dress in the 28 EU Member States

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Restrictions on Muslim Women's Dress in the 28 EU Member States BRIEFING PAPER Restrictions on Muslim women’s dress in the 28 EU Member States: Current law, recent legal developments, and the state of play Open Society Justice Initiative Updated: July 2018 This report maps laws and legal developments restricting religious dress—specifically the headscarf and face veil worn by Muslim women—in the 28 countries of the European Union (EU). Country-by-country, this study examines relevant laws, bylaws, and case law, as well as political platforms, legislative proposals, and public discourse. It also covers restrictions in employment, education, services, and public space. 224 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019, USA | TEL +1-212-548-0600 | [email protected] BRIEFING PAPER: RESTRICTIONS ON MUSLIM WOMEN’S DRESS 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..............................................................................................................................................3 A. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF RESEARCH .......................................................................................... 3 B. TERMINOLOGY AND METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................. 4 C. CENTRAL FINDINGS ........................................................................................................................................ 5 COUNTRY PROFILES................................................................................................................................................ 13 AUSTRIA ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 BELGIUM ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 BULGARIA ....................................................................................................................................................... 25 CROATIA ......................................................................................................................................................... 27 CYPRUS ........................................................................................................................................................... 28 CZECH REPUBLIC ............................................................................................................................................. 29 DENMARK ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 ESTONIA ......................................................................................................................................................... 33 FINLAND ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 FRANCE........................................................................................................................................................... 37 GERMANY........................................................................................................................................................ 44 GREECE ........................................................................................................................................................... 49 HUNGARY ........................................................................................................................................................ 50 IRELAND ......................................................................................................................................................... 51 ITALY .............................................................................................................................................................. 53 LATVIA ........................................................................................................................................................... 55 LITHUANIA ...................................................................................................................................................... 56 LUXEMBOURG .................................................................................................................................................. 58 MALTA............................................................................................................................................................ 59 THE NETHERLANDS ......................................................................................................................................... 60 POLAND .......................................................................................................................................................... 64 PORTUGAL ...................................................................................................................................................... 64 ROMANIA ........................................................................................................................................................ 65 SLOVAKIA ........................................................................................................................................................ 66 SLOVENIA ........................................................................................................................................................ 67 SPAIN ............................................................................................................................................................. 68 SWEDEN.......................................................................................................................................................... 71 UNITED KINGDOM............................................................................................................................................ 73 ANNEX I – RELIGIOUS DRESS BANS IN THE EU.............................................................................................. 78 ANNEX II - LIST OF NATIONAL REVIEWERS AND EXPERTS ..................................................................... 79 ENDNOTES 80 BRIEFING PAPER: RESTRICTIONS ON MUSLIM WOMEN’S DRESS 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Statement of purpose and scope of research This report maps restrictions on religious dress, specifically the headscarf and face veil worn by many Muslim women, in 28 countries of the European Union (EU).1 The restrictions and proposed restrictions explored within the study include legislation, administrative law,2 case law, political platforms, and legislative proposals. The report also considers public discourse, activism for and against bans, and the spread of bans and attempted bans within the EU across various sectors, including employment, education, services, and public space. Each chapter of this report examines restrictions and proposed restrictions in a specific country of the European Union, for a total of 28 chapters. Each chapter aims to provide the most up-to-date information for that particular EU country, as of 10 July 2018. General background on the Muslim community in that country, in particular information on women who wear religious headscarves or face veils, is included. Each chapter reports on the existence of legal bans at the national or municipal levels, as well as institutional/private bans or restrictions in practice, plus relevant case law. Each chapter also traces the development of public discourse on banning headscarves and face veils, media coverage, and political initiatives related to banning efforts. In addition to describing legal restrictions, the report tracks the development of bills and political proposals in each country. Such initiatives may become national legislation or influence the enforcement of existing laws, as well as influencing public discourse. Where possible, the report maps each country’s national legislative protections against religious discrimination, with a focus on religious discrimination in employment. In Europe today, both academia and civil society are paying increasing attention to Islamophobia and discrimination against Muslims in general, but there has been significantly less focus on how legislation and government policies—particularly restrictions on religious dress—discriminate against Muslim women. Mainstream international media and major reports by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have focused primarily on France, Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy. This report looks beyond those five countries, and pays equal attention to each EU member. This provides a comprehensive view of the limitations Muslim women encounter in their daily lives in the EU when they chose to practice their religion by wearing religious dress. Discrimination against Muslim women must be understood from an intersectional perspective. In addition to being women and religious minorities in Europe, Muslim women who wear religious dress are highly visible and easily identifiable as Muslim, making them even more vulnerable. The intersectionality of discrimination against Muslim women who wear face veils or headscarves in the EU is emphasized throughout this report.3 The report does not cover legal restrictions on headwear in photographs required for official documents (such as passports), which are
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