"Body of Belief" Exhibit and Parallel Meeting, March 23-24, 2005

On March 23, 2005, the Becket Fund debuted "Body of Belief," an exhibit consisting of photographs and actual articles of banned religious attire, at a reception at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva. On March 24, the Becket Fund hosted a parallel meeting at the UN Human Rights Commission, also in Geneva, to present the testimonials of people of conscience who faced legal prohibitions on their religious attire. This slideshow contains photographs from both events, first from the reception, then from the parallel meeting. Click directly on each image to enlarge it.

Turkish and French Muslim women who have been prohibited from wearing the hijab, including 16-year-old Cennet Doganay (2d from right), a French citizen who was banned from her public school pursuant to the laïcité laws for wearing a headscarf. After the school prohibited her from wearing even the hat she holds in this photograph, she shaved her head in order to comply with both the law and her conscience. Her plight has been featured in publications from Le Monde to Teen Vogue.

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