French parliament backs bill to stop hair discrimination against black women

Draft law, which also affects redheads, blond people, and those with dreadlocks now goes to senate

France's lower house of parliament has backed a bill banning discrimination based on hairstyle, colour or texture, in a historic" move supporters say will help penalise workplace discrimination.

Olivier Serva, an independent deputy for the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe who sponsored the bill, has argued that there is a lot of suffering based on hair discrimination, and that women of African descent in France were often encouraged to change their hairstyle before job interviews.