The UN condemns France’s sports and school headscarf ban
1 min read
Women should have the freedom to choose what they wear, according to the UN human rights office, which has questioned France’s secularism policy and its prohibition on religious symbols in public areas.
The UN intervened after Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the French minister of sport, declared that athletes representing France in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris would not be permitted to wear headscarves or any other religiously symbolic accessories or clothing.
The UN spokesperson, Marta Hurtado, stated that no one should tell a woman what to wear or not wear. She also stated that limitations on the expression of one’s faith or beliefs should be applied proportionately and justified by real concerns for the public’s health, safety, or order.
The speaker asserted that France has a duty to eradicate gender-based discrimination and alter any societal or cultural norms that perpetuate the notion of male or female inferiority or superiority.
The secularism and women’s attire debate in France has a long history, particularly with reference to Muslim women who cover their heads with headscarves, niqabs, or abayas. Since 2004, religious symbols have not been allowed in state schools, and face coverings have been prohibited in public since 2010.
The abaya, a long dress worn by Muslim women, is prohibited in state schools, and the government has recently stepped its attempts to promote secularism by endorsing a ban on headscarves at football games.
Politicians, activists, and human rights organisations have attacked these actions, claiming that the government is stigmatising Muslims, restricting their liberties, and catering to the extreme right.
The UN human rights committee has already criticised France for prohibiting face coverings and for making discriminatory decisions against a Muslim woman who was turned away from vocational training due to her headscarf.
France was asked to respect the rights and dignity of all women by the UN human rights office, which stated that discriminatory practises against a group can have negative effects.
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