The French government and Olympic officials are seeking a solution to allow French Muslim sprinter Sounkamba Sylla to wear her hijab at the opening ceremony while complying with the country's secularism laws, they said Wednesday.
The effort comes after the 26-year-old member of France's 400-meter relay team recently took to Instagram to reveal that her hijab (a head covering worn by many Muslim women) would prevent her from appearing at Friday's blockbuster opening ceremony.
She wrote: “You are selected for the Olympic Games, organised in your country, but you cannot participate in the opening ceremony because you are wearing a headscarf.”
Thousands of athletes, including some who wear hijab, are putting an international spotlight on tensions in France over national identity and perceived discrimination against Muslims. Reuters reported.
France, home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, has laws to protect the principle of secularism, banning state employees and school pupils from wearing religious symbols and clothing in public institutions.
Human rights groups say these rules effectively discriminate against Muslims.
The French government and Olympic officials said they were willing to find a solution for Sylla, although it remains unclear what that might be.
“Our citizens expect us to respect these principles of secularism, but we must also be inventive in finding solutions so that everyone feels good,” Amelia Oudea-Castera, minister for sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said on Wednesday, adding that Sylla “understands our principles, our rules.”
Foreign athletes are not affected by the rules of secularism.
David Lappartient, president of the French Olympic Committee, said that the French Olympic team “is engaged in a public service mission and is therefore obliged to respect secularism.”
