3 questions on France's decision to ban its athletes from wearing headscarves at 2024 Olympics

ISTANBUL (AA) - The recent decision by French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera to ban French athletes from wearing hijabs or headscarves during next year’s Paris Olympics has drawn widespread condemnations.

Before the decision, the French Council of State, the country's highest court, in September approved a decision by the French government to ban abayas, a garment worn by Muslim girls and women, in French schools.

Both moves are widely seen as targeting the Muslim community in France by imposing further restrictions on their choices and beliefs.

The UN voiced concerns and objections to the French decision on banning its athletes from wearing the headscarf/hijab.

- Why did France impose the hijab ban on its athletes?

Speaking to channel France 3, the French sports minister tried to justify the decision to ban hijabs among the French athletes participating in the Paris Olympics in 2024 as applying a "strict secular" regime in sports.

Oudea-Castera said the decision is also built on a French Council of State ruling in June to keep the ban on wearing headscarves in football games, as the decision has been applied by the French Football Federation since 2016.

She added that the French government opposes the display of religious symbols during sporting events to ensure "absolute neutrality in public services."

Her decision also contradicts the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which considers the wearing of hijabs a cultural practice rather than a religious one.

- Will France try to ban foreign athletes in the Olympics from wearing headscarves?

The decision raised concerns among Muslim athletes participating in the Paris Olympics 2024.

The IOC assured all athletes that they are free to wear a headscarf (hijab) in the athletes village in Paris, despite the host country's decision banning its athletes from wearing the head covering.

The IOC also said it was in contact with the French Olympic Committee to better understand the situation with the French athletes.

- What is the position of the UN and other international groups towards the French decision?

The UN voiced objections to the French decision banning the hijab, giving a sign of support to the Muslim community, badly affected by the French decision, after it lost hope in the French judiciary standing by its rights to freedom of choice.

"No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear, or not wear," said Marta Hurtado, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"Discriminatory practices against a group can have harmful consequences,” she added.

"That is why according to international human right standards, restrictions of expressions of religions or beliefs such as attire choices are only acceptable under really specific circumstances that address legitimate concerns for public safety, public order or public health or morals in a necessary and proportionate fashion," she said.

FIFA said that the French ban may prevent some Muslim female athletes from competing in the Olympics in Paris.

The international football authority had imposed a ban on the hijab being worn in international matches in 2007, citing safety reasons, but the ban was lifted in 2014.

The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF), for its part, urged the French government to reconsider its hijab ban.

"We believe this contradicts the principles of equality, inclusivity and respect for cultural diversity that the Olympics stand for," a statement by the ISSF Athletes Commission said.

"This ban not only infringes upon the religious freedom of French Muslim athletes but could also deny them the opportunity to participate in the Olympics, representing their country and inspiring others,” it added.

France is home to the largest population of Muslims in Europe, making up at least 10% of the French population. Islam is the second-largest religion practiced in the country, after Catholicism.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar