Cardi B made an appearance at the Eiffel Tower on behalf of Paris Fashion Week over the weekend and ended up exposing a massive double standard of what some women can and cannot wear in France.
The Bodak Yellow rapper stepped out in a head-to-toe floral get-up by designer Richard Quinn, which included a fabric face mask, headscarf, coat, long skirt, tights and shoes all in the same blue, green and purple patterned print.
Cardi – real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar – alerted fans she was in France with an Instagram post on Saturday with the caption “PARIS FASHION WEEK, IM HERE!”.
“I heard you bitches were missing me at Fashion Week New York. I’m here to serve it to you motherfuckers, and serve it to you cold,” she said, while walking in her outfit. “Make sure a car don’t hit me ’cause a bitch can’t see.”
While Cardi B’s look certainly made headlines, it also exposed a major double standard in France. In 2011, France banned full-face veils and headgear covering the face, which primarily affects Muslim women who wear niqabs.
A United Nations Human Rights Committee said in 2018 that the “French law disproportionately harmed the petitioners’ right to manifest their religious beliefs” and that “rather than protecting fully veiled women, could have the opposite effect of confining them to their homes, impeding their access to public services and marginalising them”.
Game Of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel pointed out the double standard in a tweet, praising Cardi’s outfit, writing: “I hope this reminds people that Niqabs are banned in public places in France & come with a fine of up to €150.”
Others on social media also spoke up.
“So it’s illegal for Muslim women to wear the niqab in France, but when Cardi B dresses in a ‘head to toe’ outfit for Paris fashion week it’s celebrated ?? Make it make sense,” one Twitter user wrote.
Representatives for Cardi B did not immediately respond to a request for comment.