A Jewish woman in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, France, has filed a complaint against police officers for allegedly removing her wig during an arrest, in what she describes as an act of sexist and antisemitic violence, BFMTV reported.
The incident, first reported by French investigative news site Mediapart, occurred after a traffic stop where the woman, referred to as Sarah (a pseudonym to protect her identity), was accused of failing to comply with police instructions.
Sarah, 67, alleged that during the arrest, police officers forcibly removed her wig, an item she wears for religious reasons, as is customary for many married Orthodox Jewish women. This act, she claimed, was part of a broader pattern of mistreatment that included sexist remarks and antisemitic violence, highlighting a disturbing abuse of power and disrespect for religious practices.
The incident took a more troubling turn at the police station. According to BFMTV, handcuffed and disoriented, Sarah was further humiliated when an officer, noticing her wig, instructed another to remove it. This action, alongside the officers' alleged mockery of her religious faith while she was in a vulnerable state, has sparked outrage and calls for accountability.
Plea initially dismissed
Despite filing a complaint with France's General Inspectorate of the National Police (IGPN) — often referred to as the "police of police" — Sarah's initial plea was dismissed in September due to an "absence of serious offense." Undeterred, she pursued legal action, filing a new complaint in February that led to the reopening of her case, this time focusing on the violent, sexist, and antisemitic nature of the officers' actions.
Des vidéos que révèle Mediapart montrent qu’une femme de 67 ans, juive orthodoxe, a été privée de sa perruque alors qu’elle venait d’être arrêtée pour un refus d’obtempérer.Son avocat dénonce des #ViolencesPolicières « sexistes et antisémites ». https://t.co/PbjYerIYNg pic.twitter.com/2il6GrBAy5
— Mediapart (@Mediapart) February 4, 2024
Married Orthodox Jewish women, adhering to the modesty standards of tzniut (modesty) and halacha, commonly cover their hair with various head coverings like the tichel (headscarf), snood, or sheitel (wig) when outside their immediate family circle. The tichel and snood are especially prevalent in the Haredi community, symbolizing a historic and rabbinically endorsed expression of faith and modesty.