The UN requests France to review the hijab ban
United Nations experts asked France to review the discriminatory measures of banning the use of hijab for women and girls in this coury who have chosen to use it in sports activities.
According to Isna, these experts announced in a stateme that the decisions of the French football and basketball federations to exclude hijab-wearing players from competitions, including at the amateur level, and the decision of Paris to preve the presence of French hijab-wearing athletes to represe this coury in the Paris Olympics, are “disproportionate.” and discriminatory” and violates their rights to freely express their ideity, religion or beliefs.
According to Anatolia News agency, the stateme coinued: “Muslim women and girls who wear hijab should have equal rights to participate in cultural and sports life and participate in all aspects of French society of which they are a part.”
These UN experts also emphasized that the French authorities “have not taken any steps to ensure that the bans adopted by sports federations are proportionate and based on reasons recognized in iernational law to justify the restriction of human rights.”
They also urged France to respect iernational standards in protecting individuals’ freedom of expression and religion, and added: “The neutrality and secular nature of the state is not a legitimate reason to impose restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief.”
The stateme of these experts follows the rece decision of the highest administrative court of France, which supports the policy of the football federation of this coury to ban the hijab in sports matches.
UN experts also argued that the ruling, along with a proposed bill to be submitted to the French Senate in March 2024, could discriminate against Muslim women who wear religious clothing.
In the face of increasing iolerance and labeling, these experts asked France to protect women who choose the hijab and concluded: “France must take all the measures at its disposal to protect these people, protect their rights and promote Adopt equality and mutual respect for cultural diversity.
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