AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): In France, the number of young Muslim girls who have chosen the hijab is increasing. A phenomenon that appears to be related not only to family traditions or the transmission of religious practices and beliefs from parents to children.
According to a report by Al Jazeera Net, Tareq Yildiz, a sociologist and writer, argues in an article that the hijab has become, for some young French girls, a tool for expressing religious identity and a sense of pride in belonging to Islam.
He cites the results of a survey by the Ifop institute showing that in 2025, 45 percent of French Muslim women aged 18 to 24 said they wear the hijab. While this figure was 16 percent in 2003.
In contrast, the rate of hijab use among French Muslim women over 50 has decreased from 35 percent to 16 percent over the same period. According to Yildiz, this difference indicates a significant generational shift.
Young girls do not necessarily view the hijab merely as a habit inherited from their mothers. Thirty-eight percent of young girls participating in this survey said the hijab helps them show they are Muslim and express their religious belonging. While this rate was 23 percent in 2016.
According to this writer, this shows that the hijab has become, for some of them, a tool for displaying identity and a sense of pride in it, rather than merely the continuation of a family tradition.
But pride in identity is not the only reason for wearing the hijab. Some French Muslim women see the hijab as a means for feeling more secure in public spaces.
The report states that 44 percent of them say they wear the hijab so as not to attract men's attention, 42 percent have stated their goal as feeling secure, and 15 percent said they wear the hijab so as not to be perceived by others as a non-hijab-wearing person.
In contrast, direct family pressure does not appear to be the main reason for wearing the hijab. Only a very small percentage—less than 2 percent—said they wear the hijab due to family pressure.
Therefore, Yildiz believes the relationship between freedom of choice and social pressure is more complex than saying a woman either wears the hijab by personal choice or due to family coercion.
This writer also links this phenomenon to the changing relationship of young French Muslims with religion and society. In circumstances where some traditional forms of collective belonging have declined, religion can provide, for some young people, a framework of values and rules, as well as a sense of belonging and identity.
According to the writer, social networks also play a role here, because they provide young people with virtual communities and groups in which they can have mutual support and express their sense of belonging.
Therefore, the story of the hijab among young French Muslim girls is not only about the hijab itself but speaks of a broader generational transformation. Some young girls who were born in France, compared to their mothers' generation, have become more inclined toward religion and a more open expression of religious beliefs.
Thus, this article believes that to understand this phenomenon, the hijab should be viewed, at least for some young French Muslim girls, as a symbol of pride in religious identity and a sense of belonging, and at the same time a tool for feeling protected and secure—not merely a sign of traditionalism or extremism.
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