While the eyes of the international community were on the protests against the Islamic veil in Iran on Wednesday, a post appeared on the Twitter profile of the EU program Erasmus+ that many found inappropriate. The photo chosen to promote the announcement of the winners of the Innovative Teaching Award for EU Primary and Secondary School Children is actually that of a girl wearing a hijab. The same veil that killed Masha Amini in Tehran last Friday. The slip did not go unnoticed. In fact, a vortex has erupted in France. Eric Zemmour, leader of the nationalist Reconquête party, immediately accused Europe of engaging in “Islamic propaganda”. Marine Le Pen repeats it: “Are those the values of the European Union to put the veil on girls?”. MEP Jordan Bardella, presidential candidate of the Rassemblement National, also speaks of a “new step towards submission”.
The tweet was removed the same day. We’ll never know if it’s because of the polemics being fomented by the French right or because of a question of respect for Iranian women who continue to take to the streets risking their lives to free themselves from what what they see as a symbol of oppression. But it is not the first time that the European Commission has chosen veiled women as testimonials. Last February, a girl in jeans and a headscarf appeared on the promotional posters for the Future of Europe conference. In May, on the Instagram profile dedicated to young people from the EU Commission, a 20-year-old with a veil demanded the right to play football without being discriminated against because of her appearance. Likewise, a female face framed by a veil was used to sensitize young people to the discussion about ‘inclusiveness’ and the ‘future of European values’. “Europe, champion of rights and freedoms, not only is not outraged by the death of Mahsa Amini and does not side with those who are demonstrating in Tehran against the compulsory veil, but is sticking to its shameful communication campaigns, paid for by the citizens ‘ Money in which the Islamic veil is combined with concepts of freedom and progress,’ protests Isabella Tovaglieri, MEP of the Lega, which is part of the Commission for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in the European Parliament. For her, as for her French colleagues, it was “unacceptable” to “advertise with pictures of veiled girls for a prize for innovation in teaching”.