French Veil Restrictions Spark Online Protest Movement, Drawing Global Attention

#HandsOffMyHijab and #PasToucheAMonHijab. The protest campaign against restrictions related to the wearing of the veil is a success. Several personalities are participating in it. "What is happening in France reminds me of what was happening to us a few years ago in the United States. Some freedoms are being taken away from Muslim women," writes American fencing champion Ibtihaj Muhammad on Twitter.

For her, faith is a human right and the expression of faith should be an accessible right for all. "We should be free to practice our religion without judgment and without a government telling us what we should wear," she adds before calling on Muslim women. "A government is trying to deprive women of the right to present themselves to the world as they see fit. If you call yourself a feminist, this is your fight too," she says.

Model Rawda Mohamed also supports this campaign. "I firmly believe that the only antidote to hate crimes is activism. (...) It is our duty as a person to stand up and fight for the rights of each and every one. The ban on the hijab is a hateful rhetoric coming from the highest level of government and will remain in the annals as a huge failure of religious values and equality," she said in a message posted on her Instagram account. A message accompanied by a photo on which "Hands off my hijab" is written on the palm of her hand.

On TikTok, US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar expresses her outrage. "France, the world is watching you!" she writes, before voicing her support for Muslim women in France. "To all my sisters in France, keep being queens," encourages the Minnesota representative.