[Reading this in-depth study presupposes knowledge of the content presented in the cultural test relating to this practice]

The Islamic veil often represents, especially in migratory contexts, an attempt by Muslim women to manifest their religious and cultural identity, and can therefore have very important identity values depending on the context. The hiyab, for example, is interpreted by women as connecting them to their roots and providing them with a sense of belonging to the Muslim community. However, due to the increase in fear in the West caused by the rise of Islamic fundamentalist movements, as well as in line with the growth of xenophobic and anti-immigration parties, several governments in Europe have enacted laws to ban Islamic clothing in certain public places. For many of these women, often belonging to the second or third generation of immigrants, wearing these veils therefore becomes an act of affirmation of their right to freedom of religion and worship.

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Sophie Barat, CC BY 2.0, Women wearing the hijab, via Wikimedia Commons.

​In some migratory contexts, any attempt at Western prohibition is interpreted as an attack on what is Islamic from what is not, causing Islamic norms to conflict with European social norms in most cases, and clothing is included in these fundamental aspects that determine what is permissible from what is illicit.
Some Western legislation, therefore, puts women in a position of social vulnerability, and these restrictive laws, intended to limit the wearing of the burka or niqab, contribute on the contrary to fomenting a greater determination to wear them in an attempt at identity assertion.

Kharmacher, CC BY-SA 4.0, Women with niqab, via Wikimedia Commons.

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