After the deadliest terror attacks in Paris, Muslims in France are worried about a possible backlash and the story of 18-year-old Selsabil Beloued shows how the community in the country was facing discrimination even before the strikes.
In a BBC report, Selsabil was quoted as saying that she has swapped her hijab for a beanie hat so that she wouldn't be targeted by ignorant people who just threaten all Muslims for what happened.
Selsabil felt she couldn't display her faith freely without being judged and discriminated against even before the attack, according to the report.
France is home to Europe's largest Muslim population and the discrimination against the community is a common complaint.
Though the Muslim groups across the globe was quick to condemn the attacks, the community says they are being stigmatised as they share the same religion of those who carried out the strikes.
"Sadly, there are some people who think we share the same opinions as the people who killed so many French people in Paris," Selsabil said as per the report.
Selsabil wants to pursue her career in the media industry and has decided to move to the UK to study journalism at Kent University. She think there's no possible future for Muslim women in French media.
According to a report in the Washington Post, France has six million Muslims, seven to nine per cent of the total population. The country has a deep history involving immigration, especially from North Africa.
Quoting National Observatory Against Islamophobia, the Post said that after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January, a 281 per cent rise in anti-Muslim incidents was registered in the first quarter of 2015.
Meanwhile, the fear of being scapegoated has allegedly attracted more French youth to the terror groups. According to a Time report, France has seen more of its citizens join ISIS and other jihadist groups than any other European country, but many of those 1,500 foreign fighters came from middle-class, educated families.
