There are many reasons why women look for cosmetics without this or that—maybe they’re vegans or maybe they’re very eco-conscious. Another reason? Religion.

For Muslim women, there’s apparently been a gap in the market, due to the lack of non-halal makeup. (Halal refers to the law forbidding, among other things, certain pork and animal products and alcohol.) That said, many Arab women already wear makeup—lots of it. We’re guessing that, perhaps, they’re not all so strict about conforming to Islamic law.

• An Islamic woman in France has accused local officials of religious discrimination after she was banned from wearing her “burqini,” a bathing suit that fully covers her arms, legs, and hair, in a local pool. Earlier this summer, French President Sarkozy announced that head-to-toe burqas were “not welcome” in the country. In this case, local officials said they forbid her body-covering garb for hygienic reasons. [Yahoo]

Toward the end of last month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy addressed Parliament, stating his position on burqas. He said the face-covering, body-length Muslim veils are an unacceptable symbol of “enslavement,” and that it’s not a religious issue, but simply a “sign of the subjugation, of the submission, of women.”

This discussion has resulted in threats from Muslim groups outside of France, but Parliament hasn’t made a decision on the matter just yet. A committee held its first meeting today, and Jean-Francois Cope, the head of the governing conservative party UMP, suggested a two-stage ban of burqas. Meaning there would be “six months to a year of dialogue, explanation, and warnings” before the ban would go into effect.

Despite the fact that French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a ban on burqas in France last week, saying the body coverings imprison women, Paris held a fashion show showcasing specially made designer abayas, the black overgarments worn by some Muslim women.

President Nicholas Sarkozy stood before the French Parliament today and proposed a ban on burqas, garments that completely cover a woman and mask her face, in France. According to The New York Times, he stated: “We cannot accept in our country women imprisoned behind bars, cut off from social life, deprived of identity. That is not our idea of maintaining the dignity of women.”