Controversy surrounds France’s hijab ban ahead of Paris Olympics

Amnesty International last week criticized France’s decision to prohibit athletes from wearing hijabs during the Games, labeling the policy discriminatory and hypocritical. This comes ahead of cities celebration to host the Olympics next week.

A new report from Amnesty International said, “French authorities made it emphatically and unashamedly clear … that their proclaimed efforts at improving gender equality and inclusivity in sports do not apply to one group of women and girls — those Muslim women and girls who wear religious head coverings.”

This controversy stems from a statement made in September by France’s sports minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. She reaffirmed the country’s commitment to secularism and the prohibition of religious symbols during sporting events for French athletes competing in the Olympics. “That means the prohibition of any type of proselytising and the absolute neutrality of the public service,” Oudéa-Castéra said. “Which means that the representatives of our delegations, in our French teams, will not wear the headscarf.” France has enforced a ban on headscarves in public schools since 2004.

The United Nations promptly condemned the ban, asserting, “No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear, or not wear,” according to The Guardian. The French Sports Ministry later clarified that while athletes could wear hijabs in the Olympic village, they were prohibited from doing so during competitions. Besides hijabs, athletes are prohibited from wearing “any other accessory or garment expressing their religious affiliation when representing France in a national or international sporting competition.”

Athletes for other countries need to obey the rules set by their own federations and the International Olympic Committee. Despite several human rights organizations urging French authorities to reconsider the rule last month, it remains unchanged. The ban’s timing is particularly controversial as the 2024 Olympics are being promoted as the “Gender Equal Olympics” by the IOC, the World Economic Forum, and France, due to the equal participation rate of men and women.

Anna Błuś, Amnesty International’s women’s rights researcher in Europe, criticized the policy in the report released on Tuesday. She said, “Banning French athletes from competing with sports hijabs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first Gender Equal Olympics and lays bare the racist gender discrimination that underpins access to sport in France.”

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