Legal prohibitions on wearing head and face coverings in public have become increasingly prevalent in European jurisdictions since the early 2000s, beginning with bans in France and Belgium. In 2021, the debate about the spaces in which Europe's Muslim citizens should be permitted to wear religious veils was reanimated by the introduction of new prohibitions introduced in Switzerland and France. 

More broadly, these bans are backed up with claims concerning national security, integration, and tolerance. The result is text that explicitly links female inferiority with Islamic dress, and positions such visual symbols of personal identity as contrary to membership of the French Republic and indicative of a subversive, and extremist, political allegiance.

New research from DCU’s Roisin Costello examines the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights concerning veiling. We argue that veil bans reduce the ability of Muslim women to actualize themselves as citizens by limiting their capacity to develop their identity through autonomous action, a direct infringement on their right to lead a private life.