Amnesty International has criticised the French government’s decision to ban women athletes representing France at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games from wearing headscarves. In a report released Tuesday, Amnesty asserted that the prohibition breaches international human rights laws and denounced the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) response to lifting the ban as “inadequate.”
The report highlights that France has banned religious headwear through national laws or sports regulations, which disproportionately affect Muslim women and girls. Amnesty International’s Women’s Rights Researcher in Europe, Anna Błuś, noted, “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 sports.”
Despite calls from advocacy groups like the Sport & Rights Alliance and Basket Pour Toutes to overturn the ban, as mentioned in their joint letter addressed to IOC President Thomas Bach, the IOC has maintained that the issue is beyond its purview. The IOC’s stance, Amnesty argues, neglects France’s obligations under international human rights treaties and the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights.
The ban on religious headwear is prevalent in multiple French sports federations, including the Fédération Française de Football and Fédération Française de Basketball. Collectives championing non-discrimination and gender equality, such as Les Hijabeuses and Basket Pour Toutes, continue to advocate for the repeal of these prohibitive measures.
Earlier this year, a coalition composed of athletes and organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued an open letter on International Women’s Day explicitly challenging the French Basketball Federation’s headwear ban. They underscored the urgent need for policy reversal, arguing that these restrictions contravene international human rights and disproportionately target observant Muslim women and girls.
The principle of laïcité has long shaped the public expression of religion in France, leading to various similar prohibitions, as seen in judicial settings and even ID card photographs.
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