Paris Olympics: French athlete Sounkamba Sylla might miss opening ceremony because of hijab

France’s 400-meter women’s and mixed relay teams athlete Sounkamba Sylla claimed that she has been banned from the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics 2024 on Friday because she wears a hijab.

“You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can’t participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,” the 26-year-old wrote in her social media post earlier in the week.

On Wednesday, David Lappartient, president of the French Olympic Committee, said that French Olympians are bound by the secular principles that apply to public sector workers in France, separating state and church, which includes a ban on hijabs.

Sylla’s current situation is because France’s minister of sport said athletes representing France would be prohibited from displaying religious symbols during sporting events which included headscarves last September.

“It’s perhaps sometimes not understandable in other countries in the world, but it’s part of our DNA here in France,” Lappartient said.

Lappartient said discussions are underway with Sylla to find a solution that adheres to the French Olympic team’s secular requirements while also respecting the athlete’s “legitimate wish that her beliefs are respected.”

Thousands of athletes, including some who wear a hijab, are arriving for the Paris Olympics, placing an international spotlight on tensions in France over national identity and perceived discrimination against Muslims.

Foreign athletes are not affected by the secularism rules and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not have rules against wearing religious head coverings.

Maria Hurtado, spokeswoman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, criticised the French government in September last year over its stance on the hijab for French athletes during the Olympic Games, saying that “no one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear, or not wear”.

Le Parisien newspaper reported that Sylla might participate in the Olympics opening ceremony wearing a cap.

With agency inputs

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