The Egyptian volleyball players were playing against Spanish pair Liliana Fernández Steiner and Paula Soria Gutiérrez, who wore bikinis to the competition. They contrasted with the Egyptian players on the beach as Marwa Abdelhady and Elghobashy Doaa played in hijabs, leggings and long-sleeved shirts.
They broke France’s hijab ban. “Nobody can tell me how to dress”
France has a ban on wearing hijabs during sports competitions. The rule applies to many sports, including football, basketball and boxing, and is not intended to discriminate against Muslim minorities, but rather the opposite. The country’s sports minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera, explained that the decision was made out of respect for secular principles.
Bartosz Łosiak and Michał Bryl lost the last group match against Germany at the Olympic Games in Paris Photo: Kuba Atys / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
The Egyptians lost 0:2, but the result wasn’t the most talked about after the match. The players criticized the French rules after the match. “I want to have fun in a hijab, she wants to have fun in a bikini, it’s all right if you want to be naked or wear a hijab. Just respect all different cultures and religions. I’m not telling you to wear a hijab and you’re not telling me to wear a bikini. Nobody can tell me how to dress. It’s a free country, everyone should have the right to do what they want,” one of the volleyball players told Expressen.se.
Controversy Over French Law: ‘Exposes Racist Discrimination’
Female athletes can wear hijabs in the Olympics, but they must compete without a head covering. The decision of the authorities was not welcomed by everyone. – The ban on French athletes competing in hijabs at the Olympic and Paralympic Games mocks the claims that Paris 2024 is the first Gender Equality Games, and exposes the racist gender discrimination that underlies access to sports in France – said Anna Błuś, a researcher on women’s rights in Europe at Amnesty International. If you’d like, please vote in our poll below.
Source: Gazeta
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