Banning Islamic veils: Is gender equality a valid argument?

In political and popular debates, bans on the wearing of Islamic head scarves and veils are often said to be necessary for the promotion of gender equality. In this article, I argue that this is based on a stereotypical view of Islam and of Muslim women which ignores the many different reasons why women wear headscarves and veils. I also argue that bans are unnecessary and even counterproductive to achieving gender equality. For those women who wear these garments because they freely choose to do so, bans are not necessary to promote their equality. For those women who are pressured into wearing headscarves or veils, bans could well work against promoting their equality, because they could prevent them from getting an education and a job and could lead to their isolation from society.