Event information

7 March 2023, 18:00-20:00
Register start 14 February 2023
Register end 6 March 2023

Downloads

Flyer >

To Ban or not to Ban: Religious Symbols and Women’s Rights

Human Rights Conversations

Portrait of an arab woman from the back facing a crowd at a feminist demonstration Portrait of an arab woman from the back facing a crowd at a feminist demonstration

Following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini on 16 September 2022, protests in Iran have intensified and call for a change in Iran’s mandatory hijab law, which has been in force since 1979. The ongoing civil unrest has once again brought under the spotlight the role of religious symbols and the protection of human rights, and women’s rights in particular.

The wearing of hijabs is a particularly controversial topic which has given rise to conflicting jurisprudence in human rights law. If at the international level, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee has underscored that ‘the observance and practice of religion or belief may include not only ceremonial acts but also such customs as […] the wearing of distinctive clothing or head coverings’ (General Comment 22), the European Court of Human Rights declared the French ban on wearing of ‘any article of clothing intended to conceal the face’ in a ‘public place’ is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

This Human Rights Conversation organized on the eve of International Women's day, will explore the implications that legislative measures on hijabs, either banning or mandating them, have on the protection of women’s rights.

Moderator

  • Stefania Di Stefano, Project Officer, Geneva Human Rights Platform 

Panelists

  • Nazila Ghanea, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief
  • Ibrahim Salama, Chief, Human Rights Treaties Branch, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • Marcia V.J. Kran OC, Member of the UN Human Rights Committee 
  • Shima Esmailian, Student, MAS es in Transitional Justice, Human Rights and the Rule of Law, Geneva Academy

About Human Rights Conversations

Human Rights Conversations are a series of events, hosted by the Geneva Human Rights Platform, aimed at discussing contemporary issues and challenges related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Geneva and beyond.

Video

Human Rights Conversations : To Ban or not to Ban: Religious Symbols and Women’s Rights

This Human Rights Conversation explored the implications that legislative measures on hijabs, either banning or mandating them, have on the protection of women’s rights.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

neurotech image News

Research Brief Evaluates the Human Rights Implications of Neurotechnology in Therapeutic and Commercial Applications

27 March 2025

Our research brief, Neurotechnology and Human Rights: An Audit of Risks, Regulatory Challenges, and Opportunities, examines the human rights implications of neurotechnology in both therapeutic and commercial applications.

Read more

Human Rights Tiles News

From Signals to Action: Strengthening the UN's Conflict Prevention Efforts

31 March 2025

Our recent research brief series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

United Nations Geneva Event

‘Urgency Measures’ to face a triple crisis – what insights can be taken from the Treaty Body strengthening process?

4 June 2025, 13:30-15:00

This side event represents a critical opportunity to reflect on the innovative approaches taken through the treaty body strengthening process and to consider the future direction of the treaty body system.

Read more

Training

Human Rights and the Environment: Introducing Legal Regimes and Key Issues

1-8 September 2025

Participants in this training course will be introduced to the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as international environmental law and its implementation and enforcement mechanisms.

Read more

Town Hall Meeting Training

Localizing International Human Rights

8-10 October 2025

This training course, specifically designed for staff of city and regional governments, will explore the means and mechanisms through which local and regional governments can interact with and integrate the recommendations of international human rights bodies in their concrete work at the local level.

Read more

Sign: National Human Rights Commission of Nepal Project

Local Implementation of Global Human Rights

Started in May 2020

The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.

Read more

First annual conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform Project

The Annual Conference of the Geneva Human Rights Platform

Started in June 2019

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more