the essentials UN experts call on France to lift the ban on the hijab in sport, denouncing a “discriminatory” restriction which deprives Muslim women of their cultural and sporting rights.
Several months after the first contradictions over the wearing of the hijab in the world of football and then at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the subject is back in the news. A group of independent experts from the United Nations called on France this Monday, October 28, to lift the ban on wearing the hijab in sports competitions, describing this restriction as “disproportionate and discriminatory”. They add that these decisions “violate their rights to freely manifest their identity, their religion or belief in private and in public, and to take part in cultural life”.
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The experts, mandated by the Human Rights Council, emphasize that the values of secularism and neutrality, invoked to justify this ban, do not constitute a sufficient basis for restricting the freedoms of religion and expression of Muslim sportswomen in France. This ban, they tell AFP, reinforces the stigmatization and marginalization of Muslim women and deprives them of their right to participate fully in the cultural and sporting life of their country.
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The Ministry of Sports clarified in June that this ban was based on the principle of “neutrality” applicable to members of the French team, without affecting foreign delegations. But for the UN rapporteurs, this approach goes against the principles of equality and diversity. They urge France to revise this policy to promote a climate of respect and cultural diversity in sport.
