A group of experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council has criticised the French government’s decision to bar women with hijab at Paris Olympics. (Reuters)
The French Government’s decision to stop its athletes from wearing the hijab at the Paris Olympics has been criticised by experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The United Nations rights experts also hit out at the decision of the French football and basketball associations to bar athletes who chose to wear the hijab.
“The neutrality and secular nature of the State are not legitimate grounds for imposing restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief. Any limitations of these freedoms must be proportionate, necessary to reach one of the objectives stated in international law” the experts said, adding that they should never be based on “presumptions, assumptions or prejudices,” un.org quoted the experts as stating.
France invoked secularism rules to ban its athletes from wearing religious symbols, including the hijab, during the Paris Olympics.
“Muslim women and girls who wear the hijab must have equal rights to participate in cultural and sporting life, and to take part in all aspects of French society of which they are a part,” said the statement, signed by eight independent UN experts.
French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla was allowed to participate in the Paris Olympics’ opening ceremony after she agreed to wear a cap to cover her hair.
“In consultation with the French Athletics Federation, the French Ministry of Sports, Paris 2024, and Berluti, discussions were held with Sounkamba Sylla,” the French Olympic Committee said Thursday in a statement. “She was offered the possibility of wearing a cap during the parade, which she accepted.”
Earlier, 26-year-old Sylla, a member of the 400 metre relay teams, had vented her frustration on Instagram.
“You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can’t participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,” she wrote.
