Headscarf Policies and the Political Integration of Muslim Women in France: A Case Study of ‘Mamans Toutes égales' and ‘Sorties Scolaires Avec Nous'

French Muslim women mounting an organized protest against the implementation of the 2011 “Chatel circular,” a policy banning them from normal parental participation in school field-trips while wearing a headscarf, has in some ways taken the form of a feminist movement, and has affected the relations of these mothers to their husbands and families, to their mosques and the Muslim community, to French feminists, to the French political system and French society generally.  This study is based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with members of "Mamans toutes égales” and “Sorties scolaires avec nous,” the two main groups asking for the repeal of the circular, and others in their political environment.  The study describes the history of the movement, characteristics of the Muslim women involved, their attitudes toward religion, gender, and French society, and provides insights into how the experience of protest has affected their integration into the French political system, and into French society.  It also suggests several implications for theories about how policies of exclusion, such as headscarf bans, actually affect processes of inclusion and exclusion in society.