France has prohibited its athletes from wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
According to AA news, this ban affects the national team as the country prepares to host the Games from July 26 to August 11, and the Paralympics from August 28 to September 8.
The French Sports Minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera, initially declared the ban on September 24, 2023.
She later reaffirmed the decision on the Francepolitical show Dimanche en Politique, confirming that no female athletes in the French delegation would be allowed to wear a headscarf during the Paris Olympics.
Following this announcement, spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Marta Hurtado, criticized the ban in a statement on September 26, stating, “No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not wear.”
On May 24, several organizations, including Amnesty International, sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee urging it to publicly call on French sports authorities to lift all restrictions on athletes wearing the headscarf at the Paris Olympics and other sporting events.
However, Amnesty International criticized the IOC’s response as inadequate.
The IOC stated that the headscarf ban was beyond its jurisdiction and noted, “freedom of religion is interpreted in many different ways by different states.”
In a press release dated July 16, Amnesty International condemned the headscarf ban as a reflection of France’s “discriminatory double standard” policy.
They asserted that the ban on veiled French athletes at the Olympic Games violates international human rights law. Amnesty also accused the French authorities of “discriminatory hypocrisy” and highlighted the “weakness” of the IOC’s response to the issue.
