Earlier this week, hijab-wearing fashion influencer Rawdah Mohammad, who lives in Scandinavia, posted a photo of herself in a white headscarf on Instagram with the words “Hands off my hijab” written on her palm.
For the past few days, the Instagram Stories and Twitter feeds of many Muslims across the globe have been abuzz with photos and videos in response to the hijab ban that the French Senate voted in favour of on March 30.
The Separatism Bill, if approved by the French Parliament, would ban Muslim women under the age of 18 from wearing hijabs in public. It would also allow public swimming pools to refuse entry to women in burkinis and will prevent hijab-wearing mothers from accompanying their children on school field trips.
"I don't understand how, in 2021, in a developed country, we are still talking about how a woman should dress," French-Moroccan fashion influencer Hanan Houachmi, who lives in Dubai, tells The National. Born and raised in France, Houachmi left the country aged 29, and began wearing hijab after giving birth to her daughter.
“I wanted to set an example for my child and wanted her to always remember me wearing hijab,” she says of her choice. Houachmi is currently building Modesteen, a digital platform targeting teenagers that will promote conversations about natural beauty, body positivity, self-care and modest fashion.
Houachmi has become an international face for modest fashion, a social media-style revolution that made room for young Muslim women to merge fashion with faith.
Many French fashion houses and beauty brands – including Jean Paul Gaultier, YSL Beauty, Koche and more – have worked with hijab-wearing models and influencers over the past few years.
The fashion industry’s increasing tolerance, however, is not shared by certain political parties. Hijabs are already banned in all public schools and some private schools in France, and cannot be worn by women working in the public sector.
Houachmi says that rather than helping minorities assimilate in France, the Separatism Bill could instead push people to withdraw deeper into their communities.
On April 5, Houachmi joined an Instagram Live session with Manal Rostom, the Nike running coach and founder of prolific Facebook community Surviving Hijab. Rostom pointed out the stark differences between the Separatism Bill and another bill currently in the process of being passed in France, which sets the age of consent at 15. Rostom stated that 15-year-olds in France may make decisions that could lead to them becoming mothers, while 17-year-olds were not seen as old or mature enough to make the choice to cover their hair.
Muslim women who decide to cover their hair may start when they reach puberty, often before they turn 18.
Houachmi emphasises the psychological impact the hijab ban will have on young Muslim women, who already struggle with reconciling their identity with state-mandated measures.
“If they’re Muslim, under the age of 18 and want to observe the hijab, they’ll be outlaws. They’ll be committing a felony,” she says. “This is going to shake their self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s tough to be a Muslim, to be an Arab, to be a minority, and all of that pressure from society is a lot to carry around as a teenager. I feel like these young girls will not find a space to exist in society, and that is very scary.”
She adds that, with France currently grappling with rising coronavirus cases, the rulings on the hijab have no real relevance. “Right now, there are no field trips with schools, young girls under 18 are in lockdown at home, so why are we coming up with laws like this and not talking about the real issues affecting the country?”
While some hijab-wearing minors – and mothers – may decide to stop covering their hair, many Muslim fashion bloggers are sharing alternative hijab-styling hacks on social media.
“I think one of the easiest alternatives for my young sisters in France is the hoodie,” says Houachmi. A video has gone viral from 17-year-old TikTok user @Nevtalkspolitics, who solemnly showcases how to transform a head covering from a draped hijab to a less conspicuous baseball cap layered under a hooded sweatshirt.
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if you go
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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SPECS
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
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The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
