French senate debates Hijab ban for female athletes
Proposed legislation would prohibit religious symbols in sports competitions and public facilities
PARIS, France (MNTV) — The French Senate is reviewing a bill that seeks to ban female athletes from wearing hijabs and other religious symbols in official sports competitions.
The proposed law, currently under discussion by the Senate’s Culture, Education, and Sports Committee, aims to prohibit visible religious attire in regional, national, and inter-district sporting events.
It would also extend restrictions to public swimming pools and bathing areas.
Beyond competitions, the bill includes measures to prevent the use of sports facilities for religious purposes, such as prayer gatherings.
France has long enforced strict secularism in public institutions.
In 2023, the government banned abayas, a robe worn by some Muslim women as a modest outer garment, in public schools, calling them a “political statement.”
Human rights defenders react
The proposed hijab ban has sparked controversy.
Amnesty International urged French lawmakers to reject the bill banning “ostensibly religious” clothing and symbols in sports competitions, which would extend the hijab ban to all sports.
The debate follows France’s controversial decision to bar Muslim women athletes wearing headscarves from the Paris Olympics.
Amnesty’s Anna Błuś criticized the law as discriminatory, targeting Muslim women and girls by preventing them from competing if they wear a hijab or religious attire.
“Equating the headscarf with ‘an attack on secularism’ is absurd and dangerous, deepening the religious, racial, and gender discrimination Muslim women in France already face,” she said.
Hélène Bâ, a basketball player and activist, warned the law would harm Muslim women, leading to social isolation, trauma, and the dissolution of women’s teams.
The bill, framing headscarves as threats to secularism, risks fueling racism and deepening stereotypes against Muslim women.
If enacted, the law would mark addition to the country’s ongoing efforts to limit expressions of Muslim religiosity in public life.
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