A girl sporting a hijab walks at Trocadero sq. close to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, Might 2, 2021. — Reuters
On the outskirts of Paris, 44-year-old French Muslim weightlifter Sylvie Eberena concentrates laborious and pushes 80 kilos of bar and weights clear over her veiled head.
The only mom made her 4 kids proud when she grew to become the French nationwide champion in her newbie class final 12 months, after discovering the game at age 40.
However now the Muslim convert fears she’s going to now not be capable to compete because the French authorities is pushing for a brand new regulation to ban the scarf in home sports activities competitions.
“It feels like they’re trying to limit our freedoms each time a little more,” stated Eberena, a passionate athlete who trains 5 days every week.
“It’s frustrating because all we want is to do sport.”
Beneath France’s secular system, civil servants, academics, pupils, and athletes representing France overseas can not put on apparent non secular symbols, comparable to a Christian cross, a Jewish kippah, a Sikh turban or a Muslim scarf, also called a hijab.
Till now, particular person nationwide sports activities federations may determine whether or not to permit the hijab in home competitions.
However the brand new laws goals to forbid the pinnacle masking in all skilled and newbie competitions countrywide.
Backers say that it might unify complicated laws, enhance secularism and combat extremism.
Critics argue it might be simply the most recent rule discriminating in opposition to visibly Muslim ladies.
‘Image of submission’
The invoice handed within the Senate in February and is quickly to go to a vote within the decrease home of the French parliament.
Some proponents need to cease what they name “Islamist encroachment” in a rustic that has been rocked by lethal jihadist assaults in recent times.
However critics level to a 2022 inside ministry report discovering that information “failed to show a structural or even significant phenomenon of radicalisation” in sport.
French Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner, a star of the 2024 Paris Video games, final month stated France was “wasting its time” with such debates and will take into consideration “equality instead of attacking a single and same religion”.
Proper-wing Inside Minister Bruno Retailleau responded that he “radically disagreed”, describing the scarf as “a symbol of submission”.
Eberena, who transformed at age 19, stated her head apparel — allowed by the weightlifting federation — had by no means been a problem amongst fellow weightlifters.
She stated the game has even allowed her to make associates from utterly totally different backgrounds.
“Sport brings us together: it forces us to get to know each other, to move beyond our prejudices,” she stated.
‘Actually unhappy’
France’s soccer and basketball federations are amongst people who have banned non secular symbols, together with the scarf.
The nation’s highest administrative courtroom in 2023 upheld the rule in soccer, arguing the federation was allowed to impose a “neutrality requirement”.
United Nations consultants final 12 months referred to as the foundations in each sports activities “disproportionate and discriminatory”.
It’s troublesome to estimate what number of ladies is likely to be prevented from competing if such laws passes. However AFP spoke to a number of ladies whose lives had already been affected by comparable guidelines.
Samia Bouljedri, a French 21-year-old of Algerian origin, stated she had been enjoying soccer for her membership within the village of Moutiers for 4 years when she determined to cowl her hair on the finish of highschool.
She continued enjoying together with her group, however after her membership was fined a number of weekends in a row for permitting her on the sector, they requested her to take off her hijab or stop.
“That they ended my happiness, just like that, over a scarf made me really sad,” she stated.
France’s model of secularism stems from a 1905 regulation defending “freedom of conscience”, separating church and state, and making certain the state’s neutrality.
The nation’s structure states that France is a secular republic.
Rim-Sarah Alouane, a researcher at College Toulouse Capitole, stated the 1905 regulation, supposed “to protect the state against potential abuses from religion”, had been “weaponised” in opposition to Muslims in recent times.
French secularism “has been transformed into a tool in its modern interpretation to control the visibility of religion within public space, especially, and mostly, targeting Muslims,” she stated.
‘Defend secularism’
Sports activities Minister Marie Barsacq final month warned in opposition to “conflating” the sporting of a scarf with radicalisation in sport.
However Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin stated that if the federal government didn’t “defend secularism”, it might empower the far proper.
Within the Oise area north of Paris, Audrey Devaux, 24, stated she stopped competing in basketball video games after she transformed to Islam just a few years in the past.
As an alternative, she continued coaching together with her former teammates and commenced teaching one of many membership’s grownup groups, she stated.
However when she goes to weekend video games, she just isn’t allowed onto the courtside bench with a scarf — so she is pressured to yell out directions from the bleachers.
“At school, I learnt that secularism was living together, accepting everyone and letting everybody practice their religion,” Devaux stated. “It seems to me they’re slightly changing the definition.”
