So here’s the scene: it’s 2024, and a Muslim woman in Quebec wants to become a teacher. She’s qualified, passionate, ready to walk into a classroom. But she wears a hijab. So—boom—door slammed shut. Not because she can’t teach. Not because she doesn’t belong. But because of a law that pretends to be “neutral” while doing the opposite.
That’s Bill 21 for you. On paper, it bans all public servants in positions of authority—teachers, judges, cops—from wearing religious symbols. Sounds fair, right? Equal rules for everyone. But let’s not kid ourselves. This law doesn’t hit everyone the same way. It hits women in hijabs like a freight train.
Because here’s the quiet part no one in power says out loud: this isn’t about secularism. It’s about visibility. It’s about control. It’s about telling Muslim women—especially those who dare to look Muslim—that they’re not welcome unless they strip themselves of what makes them who they are.
And yes, some people cheer that. Let’s not sugarcoat it. Islamophobia isn’t hiding in Quebec; it’s strutting around in broad daylight. A 2023 survey showed a third of Quebecers have a negative view of Islam. Not radical Islam—just Islam, period. Hate crimes against Muslims and Palestinians are rising. And the silence from political leaders? Deafening. Or worse—some quietly nod along, too afraid to touch the “secularism” sacred cow.
Now the Supreme Court of Canada is stepping in. They’ll review the law, hear arguments, weigh constitutional rights. Good. That matters. Because this isn’t just a Quebec issue. It’s a Canada issue. A democracy issue. A who-gets-to-belong-here issue.
And you know what’s frustrating? The law was already ruled to violate religious freedoms. A Quebec court even admitted that—before turning around and saying, welp, not much we can do because of the province’s ‘notwithstanding clause’. That’s legalese for: “Yeah, it’s discriminatory, but we’ll allow it anyway.”
Let’s pause on that. A province uses its constitutional override power not to protect minorities, but to target them. That’s the story here. That’s what’s happening in real time, while women are being pushed out of public life for refusing to hide their faith.
And sure, supporters argue that secularism is essential. Fine. But when secularism is used as a weapon—when it tells Sikh men to remove turbans, or Jewish teachers to hide their kippahs, or Muslim women to remove their hijabs—it stops being secular. It starts being supremacy. It starts being erasure.
Some call this a “culture clash.” Others say it’s about integration. But integration doesn’t mean assimilation. It doesn’t mean flattening people until they all look the same. It means respecting differences while building something shared. Quebec’s current model? It’s doing the opposite. It’s pushing people out. Quietly. Legally. Permanently.
So now, we wait. For the court. For the politicians. For the voters. But while they deliberate, real women are living the consequences—losing jobs, dreams, dignity.
And here’s the part no one likes to admit: laws like Bill 21 don’t just reflect Islamophobia. They legitimize it. They tell the public: it’s okay to be suspicious of hijabs. It’s okay to draw lines around who counts as “neutral.” That’s how soft bigotry hardens into policy.
So what do we do?
We speak up. We pressure leaders. We stop letting “neutrality” be the polite word for discrimination. And we recognize this isn’t just about religion—it’s about power. Who has it, who’s excluded from it, and who gets to decide what “belonging” looks like in a place that calls itself free.
And maybe—just maybe—we ask the bigger question:
What kind of society do we want to be? One that fears difference? Or one that’s brave enough to embrace it?