Explore This Week's Dispatch

This week’s Unbelief Brief  looks at an Iranian student’s protest of hijab enforcement with a powerful act of civil disobedience, France faces UN backlash over its hijab ban in sports, and the UK debates removing Church seats from the House of Lords in a push toward greater secularism.

Unbelief Brief

In Iran, a young university student from Tehran’s Islamic Azad University stripped down to her underwear in protest after being harassed by security forces for disobeying the strictly enforced Islamic dress code. One video circulating online shows the woman walking around campus partially dressed and another separate video appears to show her being violently arrested by multiple plainclothes officers. Iranian authorities claim the woman was mentally ill but independent news agencies have been unable to confirm whether she was actually suffering mental distress, much less her identity. Whatever the case may be, the violent reaction to this woman by security forces is indicative of Iranian authorities continued intolerance of any form of civil disobedience when it comes to protesting hijab laws.

Meanwhile, France has long enforced regulations on religious clothing for its state-sponsored athletes, namely that athletes may not wear such clothing when on the field. The issue has been a focal point of controversy in the past, including this year at the summer Olympics, when the country again came under fire for its strict “no hijab” policy. Several UN Special Rapporteurs on a number of human rights issues have made statements ruling France’s hijab ban in sports “discriminatory” and calling for its end. However, it’s worth remembering the difference between the secular West and theocracies like Iran, where such regulations are intrinsically tied to a totalitarian system designed to control every aspect of its subjects’ lives.

Finally, in the UK, the practice of allowing the Church of England to have 26 appointed seats in the House of Lords is proving to be unpopular among members of Parliament. An amendment, tabled by Conservative MP Gavin Williamson, would abolish this bishops’ bench, and “most” Labour MPs reportedly “privately agree” with the idea. If successful, this effort would represent an important reaffirmation of absolute secularism in the West and serve as an example for countries with significant political movements seeking to break down the walls between church and state.

Until next week,

The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America

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