Top French court upholds ban on wearing Hijab during soccer games
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In another wave of Islamophobia, France's top court upholds the ban on wearing the Hijab during soccer games despite all calls against it.
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The "Hijabeuses" play football in front of the Sénat in Paris on January 26, 2022, as a protest after senators voted in favor of a ban on the wearing of religious symbols during events and competitions organized by sports federations. (AFP)
France’s top administrative court ruled on Thursday against a collective of Muslim female soccer players in their case against the French Football Federation (FFF), imposing a ban on the Islamic headscarf, or Hijab, during games.
The court said in a statement that the Council of State (Conseil d’Etat) ruled that "the ban enacted by the FFF is suitable and proportionate," adding that the "sports federations, in charge of proper functioning of the public service whose management is entrusted to them, may impose on their players an obligation of outfit neutrality during competitions."
FIFA, soccer's world governing body, lifted a similar ban on female players wearing the Hijab more than a decade ago.
Moreover, France implemented laws designed to protect its strict form of secularism, known as "laicite", which President Emmanuel Macron said is under threat from Islamism. Thus, a number of Muslim associations and human rights groups consider that those laws have targeted Muslims, chipped away at democratic protections, and left them vulnerable to abuse.
French Senate votes to ban Hijab
In January last year, the French Senate voted in favor of banning Hijabs in sports competitions in the latest round of French Islamophobia and religious discrimination, using the pretext that "neutrality is a requirement" on the field.
The French upper legislative house voted to amend a proposed law prohibiting the wearing of "conspicuous religious symbols" to take part in events and competitions organized by sports federations.
The amendment aimed at banning "the wearing of the veil in sports competitions," the text clearly stated, also arguing that the Hijab could "put at risk" the safety of athletes wearing it. It was proposed by the right-wing Les Republicains party, and it was adopted in the senate with 160 votes in favor and 143 against.
