Paris 2024 deep dive: Why is hijab ban only applicable for French athletes?
This summer the creme de la creme of the world’s athletes will descend upon Paris, the City of Light, to illuminate the Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
Thousands of athletes will make the Olympic Village their home for the duration of the sporting extravaganza, with the entire place resembling a melting pot of the world’s varying cultures, cuisines and languages.
But in the midst of all the harmony and camaraderie underpinned by the occasion’s sporting spirit, there will be one glaring anomaly for everyone to see: the ban on French female athletes from donning the hijab – headscarf worn by Muslim women – inside the Olympic Village.
Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first Muslim woman to represent the United States at the Olympics wearing a hijab (Image source: Getty Images)
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has clarified that wearing hijabs within the Olympic Village is allowed for everyone, except French athletes, who have to conduct themselves as per a slightly different yardstick – namely laïcité – during the Games.
So, what is this concept of laïcité in the first place? Why will it be applied to the French contingent at this summer’s multi-sport event? And, what is its significance in wider French society?
What is the concept of laïcité?
In its most rudimentary form, laïcité is the separation of church and state in France: a by-product of a conscious effort to reduce the Catholic Church’s influence in the post-Revolution era.
Laïcité requires the complete disengagement of the country’s government from organised religion. Its scope has, with time, included virtually every other religion practised in France – including Islam.
The storming of the Bastille – a landmark moment in the French Revolution (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
The law relating to laïcité is enshrined in the French constitution itself, and has been a part of France’s society in a codified manner for more than a century.
This is the reason why Muslim Frenchwomen have an ethical minefield to navigate at the Olympic Village when they are asked to decide between representing their country and their faith.
The Olympic rings outside the IOC’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland (Image source: Getty Images)
Shireen Ahmed, an award-winning sports journalist who specialises in Muslim women in sport, says that laïcité isn’t problematic per se – the difficulty lies in its practical application.
“I don’t have any faith that France will evenly apply laïcité because they’ve done such a terrible job until now,” she remarks.
Why are French athletes at Paris 2024 bound by laïcité?
In September 2023, French sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera confirmed that the French Olympic contingent this summer will have to abide by laïcité as it is funded by and represents the French public.
The move has come under fire from some quarters in the international arena, with the United Nations Human Rights Office saying, “No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not wear.”
And Ahmed echoes this line of thought. “Forcing women out of clothing is as violent as forcing them into it.
“Sport is supposed to be inclusive of different communities and traditions. Does your social right to exclude all religions overrule my right to practise freedom of faith?”
The point to note here is that France becomes uneasy when it comes to displaying signs and symbols of one’s faith in the public eye.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games official poster (Image source: Getty images)
Case in point – the official poster for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games omitted the Christian crucifix atop the Hôtel des Invalides, stirring the controversy pot once more in the process.
What is the significance of laïcité in wider French society?
French society was founded on the principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity in the aftermath of the French Revolution and the struggle that accompanied it.
Today, some French citizens argue that there is a double standard when it comes to laïcité’s application, while others observe that it is fundamental for the existence of the French republic and should be preserved.
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Also worth noting is that there is an atmosphere of Islamophobia brewing in France in light of recent terror attacks, including the 2015 Paris terrorist attack and the Charlie Hebdo shooting carried out by the Islamic State (ISIS), which are seared in the French public’s consciousness.
Laïcité is an important constituent of French society’s fabric alongside liberté, égalité, and fraternité (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)
This, in turn, has fuelled a section of the general public to regard laïcité as an important tool for a stable French society – which has the largest Muslim population in Western Europe – sans overt religious symbols and emblems.
But come July, the general public always has the choice to sit on the fence rather than take a stand for or against laïcité.
On the other hand, Muslim women in the French contingent will ultimately have to take a call – and a pretty significant one – when push comes to shove at the Olympic Village this summer.
