> “Freedom in the hijab”: Council of Europe communication campaign causes controversy
> Several posters made available to the general public present the hijab as “a choice” and “a human right”. The campaign, co-financed by the European Union, is accused of promoting the Islamic veil.
> “How boring would the world be if everyone looked the same?” reads a visual that celebrates “beauty in diversity” and “freedom in the Islamic veil”, even as women are persecuted in some Muslim countries for wanting to break free. “My veil, my choice”, highlights another poster.
> The Council of Europe (to be distinguished from the European Council, an EU institution that brings together the heads of state and government of member states) is making several dozen visuals available on its website in English and adapted to the social networking format as part of a communication campaign aimed at “combating anti-Muslim hate speech”. The campaign is co-financed by the European Union through its “Rights, Equality and Citizenship” programme. With €439 million for the period 2014-2020, this programme should help ensure that “equality and the rights of individuals as enshrined in the Treaty, the Charter and international human rights conventions are promoted, protected and effectively implemented”.
> “How can the Council of Europe publish that “freedom is in the hijab” when so many women in the world, and even in Europe, are threatened or persecuted as soon as they try to uncover themselves?” reacted philosopher and LR MEP François-Xavier Bellamy, alarmed by a “complacency that borders on denial”. “When the Council of Europe promotes the Islamic veil, it is a negation of our Judeo-Christian roots, of our civilisation, of the spirit of the Enlightenment,” Éric Ciotti, LR candidate in the presidential election, also wrote on Twitter.
> “Recalling that women are free to wear the hijab […] is one thing. To say that freedom is in the hijab is another. It’s promoting it,” said Laurence Rossignol, a Socialist senator from the Oise region and former minister for families, children and women’s rights under the Hollande administration.
> Focusing mainly on the hijab, the posters and videos highlight the Islamic veil as “a choice” and “a human right”. With the Islamic veil, “I can be myself without having to hide,” reads one of the Instagram-formatted signs, while another claims “religious freedom as a European woman” next to a smiling veiled woman.
> Faced with the numerous criticisms and reactions, the institution decided to close the Twitter thread that generated the most comments. “The project’s webpage will be adapted to show how freedom of choice is synonymous with diversity,” the Council of Europe said, explaining that the tweets, “which were part of a joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union”, reflected “statements made by individual participants in one of the project’s workshops, using their freedom to express their identity and views” and are therefore “not individually attributable to the Council of Europe”.
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> “Freedom in the hijab”: Council of Europe communication campaign causes controversy
> Several posters made available to the general public present the hijab as “a choice” and “a human right”. The campaign, co-financed by the European Union, is accused of promoting the Islamic veil.
> “How boring would the world be if everyone looked the same?” reads a visual that celebrates “beauty in diversity” and “freedom in the Islamic veil”, even as women are persecuted in some Muslim countries for wanting to break free. “My veil, my choice”, highlights another poster.
> The Council of Europe (to be distinguished from the European Council, an EU institution that brings together the heads of state and government of member states) is making several dozen visuals available on its website in English and adapted to the social networking format as part of a communication campaign aimed at “combating anti-Muslim hate speech”. The campaign is co-financed by the European Union through its “Rights, Equality and Citizenship” programme. With €439 million for the period 2014-2020, this programme should help ensure that “equality and the rights of individuals as enshrined in the Treaty, the Charter and international human rights conventions are promoted, protected and effectively implemented”.
> “How can the Council of Europe publish that “freedom is in the hijab” when so many women in the world, and even in Europe, are threatened or persecuted as soon as they try to uncover themselves?” reacted philosopher and LR MEP François-Xavier Bellamy, alarmed by a “complacency that borders on denial”. “When the Council of Europe promotes the Islamic veil, it is a negation of our Judeo-Christian roots, of our civilisation, of the spirit of the Enlightenment,” Éric Ciotti, LR candidate in the presidential election, also wrote on Twitter.
> “Recalling that women are free to wear the hijab […] is one thing. To say that freedom is in the hijab is another. It’s promoting it,” said Laurence Rossignol, a Socialist senator from the Oise region and former minister for families, children and women’s rights under the Hollande administration.
> Focusing mainly on the hijab, the posters and videos highlight the Islamic veil as “a choice” and “a human right”. With the Islamic veil, “I can be myself without having to hide,” reads one of the Instagram-formatted signs, while another claims “religious freedom as a European woman” next to a smiling veiled woman.
> Faced with the numerous criticisms and reactions, the institution decided to close the Twitter thread that generated the most comments. “The project’s webpage will be adapted to show how freedom of choice is synonymous with diversity,” the Council of Europe said, explaining that the tweets, “which were part of a joint project of the Council of Europe and the European Union”, reflected “statements made by individual participants in one of the project’s workshops, using their freedom to express their identity and views” and are therefore “not individually attributable to the Council of Europe”.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Original campaign about the article is [here](https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/human-rights-speech/campaign-on-countering-anti-muslim-hate-speech)