Secularism and Human Rights: A Contextual Analysis of Headscarves, Religious Expression, and Women's Equality Under International Law

The author advocates adopting a contextual approach to assessing the legality under International law of restrictions on wearing Muslim headscarves and veils in public educational institutions. Taking a secularist approach to women's human rights, the author argues that the European Court of Human Rights ruled correctly in Leyla Sahin v Turkey (2004) when it upheld Istanbul University's ban on headscarves. Bennoune summarizes the background and reasoning in Sahin, and responds to NGO criticisms of the decision. Considering the conflict between the right to equality and freedom of religion in international law, the author argues for a contextual approach by looking at the meaning and impact of the religious expression in context. Applying this contextual analysis, the author considers the Sahin case, as well as a similar case from the British House of Lords, Begum v Headteacher (2006), and the 2004 French law banning religious symbols in public schools. She concludes that while the two cases were correctly decided, the 2004 French law might be driven more by religious and ethnic discrimination rather than protecting womens human rights.