A 35-year-old Muslim man in the commune of Cavaillon is facing trial after being accused of domestically abusing his wife and daughters who refused to wear an Islamic veil.
The man, who defines himself as a traditionalist Muslim, is said to have become enraged after his daughters refused to wear a hijab and did not engage in their homework that they received from the Quranic school they attended, Le Dauphine reports.
The mother testified that to police that the 35-year-old had beaten both her and her daughters repeatedly with various weapons including belts, sticks, and electrical cables.
Investigators say that the man may be charged with sexual offences as well.
The 35-year-old was arrested by French police the day after the mother reported the abuse to investigators . He has disputed the statements of the mother, which were backed up by the couple’s children.
The case comes just weeks after a court in Sweden sentenced an Iraqi asylum seeker to eight years in prison for beating his daughters and his wife with a kebab spit because they refused to wear the Islamic veil.
The investigation, which was labelled a case of honour crime, also revealed that the man, who came with his family to Sweden in 2006, refused to let his wife leave the house except to take the garbage outside.
A similar case also took place in Sweden in 2018, when a 19-year-old was charged with beating his 14-year-old sister with a baseball bat because she refused to wear the veil.
Another 2018 case in Germany involving the wearing of the Islamic headscarf turned deadly when a bogus Afghan asylum seeker murdered his German girlfriend because she refused to wear the garment and convert to Islam.
18-year-old Ahmad G. was arrested in the town of Flensburg with a friend of the victim claiming that the asylum seeker had always been jealous and started fights when she refused to wear the headscarf.