Pro-Hijab pickets protest at ban

Pro-Hijab also plans to lobby the European Parliament

Britons have taken part in a worldwide protest as a French ban on schoolgirls wearing the hijab came into force.

The London picket, outside the French Embassy, was attended by more than 400 people, according to organisers the Assembly for the Protection of Hijab (Pro-Hijab).

It was one of more than 20 that took place across the world to mark the ban coming into force on Saturday.

A spokeswoman for the organisers said the ban was oppressive.

'Counter-productive'

One of the protest organisers Salma Yaqoob said: "The ban is unjust and very counter-productive.

"People are feeling Islam and Muslims are being demonised and we're trying to take away that image and explain that it [removing the ban] is not going to threaten or undermine the education system in any way."

Speaking to BBC News Online, Pro-Hijab coordinator Rajnaara Akhtar said: "The protest was a huge success and we had a lot more people than we expected.

"We sent a letter in to the embassy, but didn't really get a response from that."

State and religion

The law banning the wearing of religious symbols from French state schools is designed to maintain the country's tradition of strictly separating state and religion, according to the country's education minister Francois Fillon.

'Conspicuous' religious clothing, Jewish skullcaps, Sikh turbans and large Christian crosses are also banned.

Pro-Hijab plans to lobby the European Parliament on 22 September in a further bid to get the ban overturned.