- International Olympic Committee refuses to call on sporting authorities in France to overturn the ban
- Out of 38 European countries, France is the only country to place ban on religious headwear in sports
- Hijab ban on French women athletes also in football, basketball and volleyball
- “No woman should be forced to choose between the sport she loves and her faith, cultural identity, or beliefs” – Anna Błuś
The ban on French women athletes who wear hijabs from competing at the Olympic Games breaches international human rights laws and exposes the discriminatory hypocrisy of French authorities and the craven weakness of the International Olympic Committee, said Amnesty International in a new report published ahead of the Paris Olympic Games.
In the 32-page report – Violations of Muslim women’s and girls’ human rights through hijab bans in sports in France – details the devastating impact that hijab bans are having on Muslim women and girls at all levels of French sport.
Amnesty’s research found that out of 38 European countries, France is the only country to place bans on religious headwear, either on the level of national laws or individual sports regulations. The ban on sports headgear contradicts the clothing rules of international sports bodies such as FIFA (International Football Federation), FIBA (International Basketball Federation) and FIVB (International Volleyball Federation).
Hijab bans in multiple sports in France have created an untenable situation which makes it in breach of multiple obligations under international human rights treaties to which France is a party as well as commitments and values set out in the International Olympic Committee’s own human rights framework.
A basketball player called Hélène Bâ spoke to Amnesty about the Olympics hijab ban and said:
“[The ban] is a clear violation of the Olympic charter, values and provisions, and an infringement on our fundamental rights and freedoms…I think it’s going to be a shameful moment for France.”
Another woman “B” told Amnesty:
“It is sad. It’s even shameful to be at this point in 2024, to block dreams just because of a piece of fabric.”
Lack of action by the International Olympic Committee
Despite repeated demands, the International Olympic Committee has so far refused to call on sporting authorities in France to overturn their bans on athletes wearing the hijab at the Olympics and at all levels of sport.
In response to a letter from a coalition of organisations urging it to take action, the International Olympic Committee claimed that France’s prohibition on sports hijabs was outside the remit of the Olympic movement claiming that “freedom of religion is interpreted in many different ways by different states.” The response did not mention other rights violated by the ban, such as freedom of expression and access to health.
France’s relentless Islamophobic campaign to ban hijabs
The prohibition on Muslim women from wearing any form of religious headgear extends far beyond the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bans on hijabs are in place in several sports including football, basketball and volleyball, at both professional and amateur levels. These bans, put in place by sports federations mean that many Muslim women are not only excluded from participating in sports but also never get the necessary training and competition opportunities to reach the Olympic level.
France’s exclusionary bans cause humiliation, trauma and fear and have resulted in many women and girls dropping out of sports they love or even seeking opportunities in other countries. Preventing Muslim women and girls from fully and freely participating in sports, for leisure and recreation or as a career, can have devastating impacts on all aspects of their lives, including on their mental and physical health.
Mentally it is also hard because you really feel excluded…Especially if you go to the bench and the referee tells you to go to the ladders [stands]. Everyone sees you…it’s a walk of shame.
Hélène Bâ, who hasn’t been allowed to compete in basketball since October 2023
Under international law, state neutrality or secularism (“laїcité”) are not legitimate reasons for imposing restrictions on freedom of expression and/or freedom of religion. And yet for several years, French authorities have been weaponising these concepts to justify the enactment of laws and policies that disproportionately impact Muslim women and girls. All of this is occurring against a backdrop of a relentless twenty-year campaign of harmful lawmaking and regulation of Muslim women’s and girls’ clothing in France, fuelled by prejudice, racism and gendered Islamophobia.
Anna Błuś, Amnesty International’s Women’s Rights Researcher in Europe, 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.
“Discriminatory rules policing what women wear are a violation of Muslim women’s and girls’ human rights and have a devastating impact on their participation in sport, blocking efforts to make sports more inclusive and more accessible.
“No policymaker should dictate what a woman can or cannot wear and no woman should be forced to choose between the sport she loves and her faith, cultural identity, or beliefs.
“It is not too late for the French authorities, sports federations and the International Olympic Committee to do the right thing and to overturn all bans on athletes wearing the hijab in French sport, both at the summer Olympics and in all sport, at all levels.”
Our fight is not political or religious but centred on our human right to participate in sports.
Founé Diawara, co-President of the football collective the Hijabeuses
