‘Muslim women have the right to wear the hijab' - Mayor's Human Rights Adviser

In the light of comments today that Muslim women who fear Islamophobic attacks should abandon wearing the hijab, or headscarf, the mayor of London's human rights adviser Yasmin Qureshi said:

‘London is a diverse city and we are going to defend that diversity very robustly. Any Islamophobic attack should be dealt with by the police, who have said they will protect London’s communities not only from the bombers but also from people who want to exploit the bombings to promote racism, Islamophobia and division.

‘It is a basic human right for a Muslim woman to choose to wear a hijab and this human right should be defended. We should not hand a victory to racists and Islamophobes who may seek to intimidate peaceful Muslims into changing their lawful behaviour.

‘The only people who should change their behaviour are those who seek to intimidate or attack Muslims.

‘As we would not say to Jewish people that they should not wear the skull-cap, or say to Christians to hide their crosses or Sikhs to take off their turbans, so Muslim women have a right to wear the hijab and this right should be defended.’

ENDS

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Press information is available from Hasina Momtaz in the Mayor’s Press Office on 020 7983 4635
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