The Sports and Rights Alliance (SRA), a coalition of various human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, is calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to put pressure on France, the host country of the upcoming Olympic Games. In a letter published on Tuesday and sent to IOC President Thomas Bach on May 24, it says: “Call on the French sports authorities to lift all bans that prevent female athletes from wearing a hijab, both (during the Games, ed.) Paris 2024 and at all times and at all levels.”
The discrimination against women and girls is “particularly worrying because the IOC is celebrating Paris 2024 as the first gender-parity Olympic Games.” There has been no reaction to the letter so far, it was said in a digital press conference.
“Other rules apply”
France prohibits its female athletes from wearing hijabs when they take part in the Olympic Games, even if the regulations of their sport allow it. In March, Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra emphasized the principle of secularism to the FAZ newspaper. France will adhere to the rules of the IOC and the Olympic Charter, which interpret the headscarf as a cultural symbol, at the Games, which begin on July 26.
However: “For the French teams, other rules apply that do not contradict the Olympic Charter. Our constitution includes the religious neutrality of persons representing France and the public service, which does not allow the wearing of a veil or any other obvious sign of religious affiliation for our athletes when representing our country.”
Minky Worden, global initiatives director at Human Rights Watch, recalled on Tuesday that the International Football Federation allowed players to wear headscarves in 2014 and the International Basketball Federation in 2017. “That should have meant the end of these bans at the latest,” said Worden. Instead, the worrying rise of Islamophobia in French society is also reflected in sport and in the enforcement of dress codes, said Monica Costa, who works for Amnesty International.
“I played for France in the U18 three-on-three basketball, it was a special honor for me,” said basketball player Diaba Konaté on Tuesday. “As a Muslim who has decided to wear a headscarf, I cannot live out my sporting ambitions. It is frustrating that I am no longer allowed to play for France just because I decided to do so. Before, I had always been told that I was part of the family,” said Konaté, who took part in the “March Madness” final tournament with her American college team at the University of California Irvine in March.
Throughout her entire college sports career in the United States, the headscarf has never caused her any problems. Now she is worried when she thinks about returning to France.
