It seems that wherever Muslim women are, control is enforced over their bodies, so much so that it is ingrained in several nation’s laws and policies.Across a number of countries, including some Muslim majority states,veiled women,which are disproportionately Muslim, are restricted from entering educational institutions,work places and many other social services that they depend on such as courts of law and doctors offices.
As someone who wears a hijab,I know first hand the emotional load of constantly being at the receiving end of aggressive attempts to unveil us and eradicate our religious expression.I am able to express my freedom of religion and choice of clothing in Britain. However, I will never deny that the experience of wearing the hijab in a non-Muslim nation is not easy.Amidst Islamaphobic abuse, discrimination and hate crimes directed at visibly Muslim women, wearing the hijab in Britain is challenging and exhaustive at best but traumatic and even dangerous at worst.
In recent years, while not enough, I’ve noticed that this reality has been acknowledged in books and podcasts that delve into our experiences and challenges. However, rarely do we mention the control over Muslim women’s bodies enforced by Muslim nations.
Attempts to control Muslim women’s bodies
Throughout history,both colonial powers and some governments in Muslim majority states have employed psychological tactics and propaganda campaigns against veiled Muslim women,controlling our choices.
During the Algerian War of Independence, French authorities arranged public “unveiling” ceremonies across North Africa.In these events,North African women were publicly unveiled by the wives of French military officials.The women were forced,bribed and pressured to participate.Some were threatened if they refused to participate while others were recruited from schools and offered payment as a bribe.And yet, this coercive act was framed as “emancipating” Muslim women and doing them a favour.
Additionally,historians like Neil MacMaster note that many women who took part never even wore veils to begin with and that these ceremonies were staged as a propaganda tactic to pressure Muslim women into unveiling.
It seems clear that the discourse behind these ceremonies has been manifested in current French policy directed at Muslim women, namely the niqab ban, and the hijab ban in schools, universities, work places and government buildings.For myself,it feels impossible to see niqab and hijab bans as anything but a continuation of colonial-era control over Muslim women’s choices.
In Europe,the countries that have implemented complete bans and/or restrictions on wearing a hijab (and in most cases, also the niqab) in public spaces and/or schools include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, German, Italy,Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and most recently Kosovo, which is one of three European Muslim-majority countries.
In 2016 in the UK,Ofsted’s chief inspector, Amanda Spielman, supported the right of head teachers to ban the hijab in schools if they wished to in order to challenge what she called ‘fundamentalist practices’,referring to wearing the hijab.In 2017,Ofsted started targeting and singling out veiled Muslim girls in primary schools and questioning them (in front of their classmates and teachers) on why they were wearing the hijab and whether they were being forced to do so.Spielman supported the questioning by stating that it promoted “fundamental British values” and tackled practices (by which she meant wearing the hijab) that undermine equality law.
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), condemned this move,stating it was “discriminatory,” “ludicrous,” and “institutionally racist,” to specifically target Muslim girls for scrutiny not applied to other groups.The Muslim Council of Britain secretary-general, Harun Khan also told the Guardian that “It is deeply worrying that Ofsted has announced it will be specifically targeting and quizzing young Muslim girls who choose to wear the headscarf.It sends a clear message to all British women who adopt this that they are second-class citizens, that while they are free to wear the headscarf,the establishment would prefer that they do not”. He continued “The many British Muslims who choose to wear the headscarf have done extremely well in education and are breaking glass ceilings.It is disappointing that this is becoming policy without even engaging with a diverse set of mainstream Muslim voices on the topic”.
Some Muslim majority nations,most notably Tunisia and Turkey, have had long-standing hijab bans in civil service and all state institutions,including schools and universities. This has led to thousands of veiled women being expelled from universities, excluded from jobs, and harassed by authorities.
Turkey’s hijab ban started to gradually be lifted in 2013, but to this day remains in certain professions like the military, the police, and the judiciary.Tunisia’s hijab ban was lifted after the 2011 revolution but in 2019, the country introduced a new ban on the niqab, citing security reasons.
Despite the lifting of the hijab ban in Tunisia, discrimination and verbal abuse against women who veil continues.Insults directed at hijab-wearing muslim women are also aired, for instance when Tunisian artist Mohamed Kouka was hosting a television program and decided to say that “The hijab makes women inferior and less worthy and this is why I hate it to the point that when I come across a veiled woman,I wish to tear the headscarf up”. Additionally,in a televised statement, the former leader of the Nidaa Tounes party, Tahar Ben Hassine,referred to the hijab as “the cloth of the donkey” and further stated that “women who accept the hijab accept tyranny and injustice”.
In 2010,Kosovo also implemented a hijab ban in schools.This led to many muslim girls stop attending school.Florinda Zeka told the BBC in 2010,”If they tell me to take it off,I won’t do that and I will leave the school because the hijab is more important to me than the school. It’s the most important thing in my life,”.In November this year, The Supreme Court of Kosovo rejected a lawsuit that sought to overturn the ban,which led to numerous more girls being excluded from school.
Organisations such as Arrita(Network for the Professional Development of Women), The Islamic Community of Kosovo (BIK) and Center for Peace(A local human rights NGO) argue that the ban is discriminatory and violates the constitutional rights of female students.Additionally, MP Duda Balje, a member of parliament, publicly condemned the ban as a “murder of the right to religion”.
There has been an increasing trend of hijab and niqab bans in Central Asia.Currently, Kyrgyzstan remains the only country in the region that allows the hijab in public schools and government offices,despite bans in other spaces.Some of the reasons cited for implementing these bans and restrictions have included preserving national culture over ‘Islamic culture’,promoting secularism and security concerns.Yet,‘ security concerns’ were never raised during the Covid-19 pandemic when populations were mandated to cover their faces.In fact,there are no restrictions for covering one’s face for medical reasons,only for religious reasons.As a result, many women who wear niqab in Kyrgyzstan are resorting to the loophole of wearing medical masks instead.
Furthermore,when policy makers argue that these bans simply preserve national culture over Islamic culture,they fail to recognise that religion is a part of one’s identity and culture. For many Muslims in these countries, Islam is a powerful part of their national and cultural identity.Many may in fact not even be religiously Muslim,but rather culturally Muslim.
Tajikistan has a nationwide ban on black hijabs and all types of veils (hijab and niqab) and abayas in state institutions which includes state schools and state universities,claiming that it is “foreign to national culture”.The ban also extends to the length of men’s beards and a restriction on religious holidays and ceremonies such as Eid celebrations. Violators of the hijab ban are fined.Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan have also banned full-face veils in all places and have banned hijabs in schools. Many of these bans are recent,for instance Kazakhstan only implemented its hijab ban in schools in 2023. Uzbekistan had previously extended this ban to the Azhan (the Islamic call for prayer) in public spaces since 2005, but lifted this section of the ban in 2017.
Legal mandates like the ones mentioned fall under ‘hard power’ tactics used to eradicate people’s religious identity and a means to maintain state control over people’s public and private life.
Kyrgyzstan’s Recent Ban
In 2016, the Kyrgyz government led a campaign to pressure Kyrgyz women to unveil.This included displaying billboards depicting images of women in black niqabs, with the question,”My poor people,where are we going?”.In the same year, the former President Almasbek Atambayev made a string of controversial comments in a press conference, including: “Women in mini skirts do not become suicide bombers”.
Now,in 2025, Kyrgyzstan has instituted a law targeting religious face coverings (the niqab and burqa) in public places.Violators of the ban face a fine of 20,000 soms (approximately $230), but campaigns to enforce the niqab ban have also included street raids. Unsurprisingly,many Muslim women have faced increasing social isolation and emotional distress as a result.
The Kyrgyz government,like France, justifies the ban by arguing that it preserves the ‘secular’ character of the state and ‘Kyrgyz culture’.However,given that ninety percent of the population are Muslim,and view their faith as a large part of their identity and culture, these laws and their justifications seem out of place.
The niqab has always been popular in Kyrgyzstan and most common in the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions.It is in these two regions in particular that women have been detained during raids by local police and security services,in attempts to enforce the ban.In the first two days of operations carried out this April in Osh,around 300 women wearing the niqab in public were stopped by officers.In another two-day raid in July of this year, around 80 women wearing the niqab were detained by police.
Women have reported being afraid and uncomfortable of leaving their homes.While many have resorted to wearing medical masks to cover their faces instead,recent videos have circulated on social media showing that police are stopping women who are wearing masks.Reports state that women are feeling alienated from society,forced to stay isolated or risk being fined or arrested. Kyrgyz women who oppose the ban have also spoken out, anonymously, and have reported to news outlets like Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) claiming that the ban has only served to alienate them more and push them further to the margins of society.They also noted that it has forced many women who wear the niqab to stay home instead and is complicating their lives.Furthermore, ‘Human Rights Without Frontiers’ reports echoed previous claims, that this ban has alienated and socially isolated Kyrgyz women.
It is clear that the natural consequences of the ban do not align with the government’s claim that the ban ‘socially integrates’ women.
The new ban conflicts with women’s deeply held beliefs, self image, and sense of identity. At its core, it infringes on their freedom to dress and express themselves as they wish. In other countries and in historical precedents of forced unveiling has been linked to the rise in women’s emotional trauma.
In Kyrgyzstan,while raids, fines and detentions continue, critics of the ban and civil rights advocates argue that Kyrgyzstan’s new law unduly infringes upon women’s freedom of choice and religious expression.
“Soft Power” Tactics discouraging Veiling
Legal bans, such as the most recent one in Kyrgyzstan are a form of ‘Hard Power’ tactics used to control Muslim women’s bodies. However, ‘Soft Power’ tactics are also used to eradicate the hijab and niqab.
Soft power tactics involve creating environments where wearing the hijab or niqab is socially and/or professionally disadvantageous.This ultimately leads to women feeling that they must choose between their religious choices or full participation in public and professional life.
Educational institutions,the media and government-led campaigns are all used as tools to inflict significant social and professional pressure on Muslim women to unveil.These tactics shape social norms and individual choices through attraction, persuasion and pressure,rather than explicit legal bans as seen in Kyrgyzstan.
Discouraging the hijab from a young age is one of the most effective soft power tactics used and one that educational institutions help facilitate.Many educational institutions implement uniform policies restricting Muslim girls from wearing the hijab,preventing them from expressing their religious identity and making their own religious choices from a young age.
A myriad of negative consequences occur as a result, which further aid in psychologically pressuring Muslim women to unveil.Banning the hijab in academic institutions reinforces stereotypes of Muslim women as ‘uneducated’.Given that educational achievement is viewed as a means to progress,not permitting women who wear hijab to enter these spaces sends a subconscious message that the hijab is counteractive to progress and education; it sends the message that it is instead a symbol of ‘regression’ and ‘lack of education’.
The hijab ban in schools forces Muslim girls to choose between their right to practice their faith and their right to an education. Consequently, in many countries where these laws were implemented,Muslim girls often stopped attending schools,which later led some countries like France to implement restrictions on homeschooling,leaving Muslim girls no choice but to attend school unveiled,if they wish to finish secondary school.The Muslim girls who did attend school without their hijab,reported feeling uncomfortable and unsafe.
Ironically,in many countries where abayas have also been banned in schools,maxi dresses (non-religious long dresses) on the other hand are not banned,and yet Muslim girls who wore maxi dresses instead claimed that they were still stopped and questioned by teachers and staff.These cases send the message that it is not necessarily what one wears, but who in question is wearing it.
Ultimately,these accounts speak for themselves. Amidst stereotypes that veiling is a sign of lack of education,it is veiled Muslim girls that are fighting one of the hardest battles to attend school.
Additionally,the media fuels campaigns to portray the hijab and niqab as incompatible with local values, modernity,and social integration.This includes only portraying successful women without a veil,establishing a message that this is the only way that a successful woman dresses; she never wears a veil.By contrast, veiled women are portrayed as both a threat and a victim, in need of saving and also being saved from.These negative portrayals of Muslim women create a social environment where women,in the absence of legal bans, choose to abandon the veil themselves to avoid being perceived in this way.For women who still choose to maintain their hijab despite these pressures, the way that veiled Muslim women, including myself, see ourselves on screen impacts our self image,self perception,self confidence and our beliefs about ourselves.
Finally,Government-led ‘modernisation’ efforts (seen in the context of many Muslim majority nations) often frame the hijab and niqab as symbols of regression and lack of education while national dress is promoted as “progressive” and “modern”.This is precisely what is fueling Central Asia’s hijab bans.The governments of countries in the region argue that veiling is a threat to national identity and promote national cultural attire over religious attire. Ironically,however,the presidents of countries in the region have been photographed wearing a suit and tie (western professional attire)over their national cultural attire.
Such Soft power tactics create social norms and expectations that inflict intense social and psychological pressure upon veiled Muslim women,ultimately resulting in some choosing to stop wearing the hijab or niqab even without a direct legal mandate to do so. However, in Kyrgyzstan,many women, despite legal mandates, are continuing to maintain their religious attire.This is at the cost of not leaving their homes or participating in professional sectors that they are now restricted from.In many ways,stereotypes of Muslim women not integrating or participating in society stems from these restrictions placed on Muslim women to be able to do so, such as seen most recently in Kyrgyzstan and Kosovo today.
I am reminded of the words of Award-winning journalist and poet, Mohammed Hassan,who writes in his poem entitled “The Muslim women who raised us”:“When us men hide in shirts and jeans, shaved jaws and blue eyes, nobody asks us where we’re going and why we’re here, what we are trying to prove with our insistence to go to school, to get degrees…”. He later adds,“But the women in my community, never left the front lines, wore their ‘other’ around their heads and marched to their offices, their lecture halls, their classrooms, the footsteps of the state and protested, held their heads high…”.
As more and more countries and people become increasingly supportive to the ban of hijabs and niqabs in public spaces, we must continue to support the women who resist these bans. This is not a battle that anyone deserves to fight alone.