'I wear a hat instead of a hijab so people won't know I'm Muslim'

Since the Paris attacks four weeks ago, 18-year-old Selsabil Beloued has been trying to hide her Muslim identity.

She has swapped her hijab for a beanie hat because she's worried about a possible backlash against French Muslims.

"I feel weak, to be honest.

"I shouldn't be doing that to protect myself, because one should not be scared of their religious belief. But sadly I'm wearing a hat," she says.

"I wouldn't be recognisable as a Muslim, so I wouldn't be targeted by ignorant people who just threaten all Muslims for what happened.

"I take the transport very late at night and you know something could happen."

Even before the attacks on 13 November, Selsabil felt she couldn't display her faith freely without being judged and discriminated against.

She has replaced her hijab with a hat in job interviews in the past.

Research suggests Muslims in France face discrimination when it comes to getting work.

"Sadly, there are some people who think we share the same opinions as the people who killed so many French people in Paris," says Selsabil.

"We are stigmatised because we share the same religion as those fanatics.

"We've been saying non-stop that we're not terrorists.

"I shouldn't have to say that. That's a sentence that's been said over and over and people still don't understand."

Selsabil's parents come from Algeria. She lives in the suburbs of Paris and wants to work in the media industry.

She thinks her hijab means she will never make it on French television, so she's decided to move to the UK and is hoping to study journalism at Kent University.

"There's no possible future in the media industry in France for me, there's no place for me," she explains.

"I really want to do this, so I am saving up to attend university in England.

"I've worked for a year to be able to go there and they accepted me. Now I'm saving up to go there next year.

"I will miss Paris a lot. I love Paris. I'm always at the museums, theatres, even just walking around the streets of Paris. It's very special."

Selsabil is working as a waitress so she can save enough money to study in the UK.

France has banned recording numbers around religion in their census but there is anecdotal evidence suggesting a growing number of young Muslims like Selsabil are choosing to leave France because of Islamophobia and discrimination.

"I'm French but I'm also Muslim, so people will never see me as fully French," she says.

"My dream, it's a very optimistic dream, is that equality of chance would be a thing in France regardless of ethnicity and religious belief."

You can hear more on this story in a documentary on the Paris attacks on BBC Asian Network Friday 11 December.

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