Dozens of people gathered outside Quebec Premier François Legault’s Montreal office on Sunday to stage a sit-in, in opposition to the province’s law on religious symbols.
Dozens of people gathered outside Quebec Premier François Legault’s Montreal office on Sunday to stage a sit-in, in opposition to the province’s ban on religious symbols that became law one year ago.
The most controversial section of the law, known as Bill 21, bans civil servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols such as a hijab or kippah.
Sunday’s event was organized by Justice Femme, a group that has been critical of the law, calling it discriminatory against Muslim women who wear a hijab.
“It was very important to us … to show Premier Legault what these women are facing every day, and what this bill has opened the door for: all kinds of discrimination in our society,” said Hanadi Saad, who helped organize the protest.
Saad said several Muslim women have been refused work at public and private daycares after saying they would not remove their hijab, even though Bill 21 does not ban daycare workers from wearing religious symbols — and private institutions are not covered at all.
