French Charity "Restos du Coeur" Faces Backlash Over Veiled Volunteer Ban

Veiled volunteers are not welcome at the Restaurants du Coeur. This is evidenced by the story that the Collective Against Islamophobia in France (CCIF) has reported on its website. A veiled woman was "excluded from the mission she had been carrying out for more than a year as a volunteer because she was wearing a headscarf".

For the CCIF, "Islamophobic discrimination closes doors in the world of work to Muslim women. This is also true in the associative world. This shows how much Islamophobia touches all spheres of the lives of Muslim women".

However, the "Restaurants du Coeur" association assumes its decision, which is based on its charter. "(…) We do not accept union badges, people in charge of a center cannot be political elected officials and likewise, so that everyone is comfortable, volunteers cannot wear any religious distinctive sign, whatever the religion," said the communication manager of this thirty-year-old association.

However, this measure does not apply to "the people we welcome in the centers, who can come as they please".

For the CCIF, this charter is "discriminatory", and "this independence must precisely guarantee that the structure does not discriminate against its volunteers on the basis of their religious affiliation".