Un-experts demand equality: Hijab wearers discriminated against in sports!

Un-experts demand equality: Hijab wearers discriminated against in sports!

Paris, Frankreich - The UN rights experts raise the alarm! France's strict rules that ban women and girls to wear the headscarf in sport are sentenced to be "discriminatory". In an urgent explanation, the experts call for this decisions to be withdrawn immediately. "Muslim women and girls who wear the hijab must have the same right to participate in cultural and sporting life," they emphasize.

The French authorities rely on their strict laity laws to ban athletes of wearing religious symbols, including the hijab, during the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The country's football and basketball associations also exclude players who carry a headscarf from competitions- and even at the amateur level! These measures are not only disproportionate, but also violate the rights of the athletes, their identity and their beliefs both privately and publicly.

un-experts demand equality

In her explanation, which was signed by eight independent UN experts, it is clarified that the neutrality of the state cannot serve as an excuse to restrict the rights to freedom of expression and religious freedom. "Restrictions of these freedoms must be proportionate and necessary in order to achieve the goals defined in international laws," said the experts. They ask France to take all available measures to protect the rights of women and girls who choose to wear hijab.

Although the French delegation at the Olympic Games in Paris does not comprise athletes with Hijab, the International Olympic Committee allows the participants to wear a hijab in athletendorf. At a time when women and girls wear the hijab are strongly stigmatized, it is crucial that France promotes equality and mutual respect for cultural diversity.