Muslim Graduate Faces Job Discrimination Over Hijab in France

Young activist for freedom of expression, Malika confided in Libération, evoking her journey as a Muslim woman and the difficult issue of wearing the veil which continues to fuel controversy. The young woman is experiencing, despite her degrees, enormous difficulties in finding a job. "For now, I’m not worried, because I don’t have any financial problems. But it’s harder to find a job when you wear the veil," she says, disillusioned.

And yet, as a student, she admits to having suffered degrading treatment because of her veil. "For example, during my first year at university, I wanted to go and vote. At the polling station, a woman told me that I had no right to vote with my veil and that I had to take it off. But I knew I had the right to!" she remembers. However, "The most difficult thing is the feeling of injustice. We feel powerless and despised," continues Malika, who made the choice herself, even though she did not receive a religious education from her parents.

Indeed, arriving in France in the 1970s, her parents, who wanted to avoid drawing attention to themselves, did not make religion their priority. It was when she arrived in college that Malika decided to cover her hair with a veil, as some Muslim women do. On the other hand, in high school, "I was not allowed to wear it, so I took it off before entering. At university, I decided to wear a veil and longer clothes," she confides. This was a difficult decision that the young woman admits to having made after "many sleepless nights of reflection on what it means to be a Muslim."

For Melika, who says she made her personal choice to be a Muslim, "for any reason, religious or otherwise, we have no right to tell someone what they can or cannot wear." Today, to be useful to the Muslim community, she has decided to join the Collective against Islamophobia in France (CCIF), which aims to "support Muslim victims of discrimination or attacks".