Amnesty International has criticized a European Court of Human Rights judgment upholding a general ban in France on Muslim women wearing full-face veils in public.
Amnesty's comments came on Tuesday shortly after the ECHR issued its judgment on the ban, which was enacted in France in 2011, which had been challenged by a 24-year-old French woman, referred to as "S.A.S".
Describing the decision as "deeply damaging", the organization said: "It represents a profound retreat for the right to freedom of expression and religion."
John Dalhuisen, the Europe and Central Asia Program Director at Amnesty International said: “The court recognized that arguments based on security and gender equality were specious.
"But it accepted the argument that wearing full-face veils runs counter to established social norms that are necessary for ‘living together’. This reasoning should be deeply disturbing to all those who value the freedom of expression.”
He added: “As the European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly insisted, discomfort and shock are the price democratic societies must pay precisely to enable ‘living together’.
"The reality is that, in forcing people to 'live together', this ruling will end up forcing a small minority to live apart, as it effectively obliges women to choose between the expressing their religious beliefs and being in public.”
Amnesty reported that S.A.S. had argued before the European Court that the law was discriminatory on the basis of her gender and religion and in violating her rights to freedom of expression, religion or belief and private life, and amounted to degrading treatment.
Amnesty said that S.A.S. had told the Court that she did not wear the full-face veil all the time and was willing to take it off in the context of identity checks, at the airport, in banks or in other situations as required.
Amnesty added that France was already ensuring identity checks can be performed by law enforcement agents when necessary and they were said to be aimed at combating violence against women.
“It is stereotypical to assume that all women who wear traditional or religious symbols or dress are coerced to do so, and no country should legislate away their rights, never mind punish them, based on such a crude generalization,” said Dalhuisen.
According to France’s Ministry of Interior, 1,900 women were wearing full-face veils in the country in 2010.
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