The European Court of Justice issued a ruling that allows European companies to ban headscarves, and other religious, philosophical or spiritual symbols in their workplaces, local media reported.
The ruling on Thuraday, asserted that “companies in the conglomerate can ban headscarves as long as it is a general ban that does not discriminate between employees.”
In its latest ruling on a case that continues to divide Europe, the EU’s Supreme Court said a general ban on headscarves would not discriminate against female workers on religious grounds, and would not contravene EU law.
In this context, EU judges in Luxembourg issued a preliminary ruling in a case involving a Muslim woman who was told she could not wear a headscarf when she applied for a 6-week internship in a Belgian company.
According to Reuters, company said that it follows a neutral rule that does not allow the wearing of a head covering, whether a hat, cap or scarf, at its headquarters.
The woman lodged her complaint with a Belgian court, which in turn sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Luxembourg-based Supreme Court stated that there was no direct discrimination in such a ban.
Hijab ban in Europe
In 2021, the European Court of Justice said that European companies could ban female employees from wearing the headscarf under certain circumstances if they needed to do so to give an impartial image to clients.
In Germany, the ban on headscarves for women at work has stirred controversy for years. Most of the cases concerned female teachers who aspired to work in public schools and women trained to advance to the judiciary.
France, which has the largest Muslim minority in Europe, banned the headscarf in public schools in 2004.
In March 2022, France’s Supreme Court upheld a ban on women lawyers wearing headscarves or other religious symbols, in a country that insists on the separation of church, state and secularism.
France was the first European country to impose a ban on full-face coverings such as the niqab and burqa in public.
Then Belgium banned the partial or total veil in public in 2011, and Austria, Latvia, Bulgaria and Denmark banned the full-face veil.
Likewise, in the Netherlands, the niqab and burqa are prohibited in schools, hospitals and on public transport, but not on the streets.
The headscarf is seen as a religious symbol and a sign of modesty by some of the women who wear it, and the veil usually covers the head and neck, but not the face.
