French government officials and members of the Olympic committee announced on Wednesday that they are "seeking an innovative solution to allow French Muslim athlete Soumamba Sila to wear her hijab during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics while adhering to the country's secular laws." Thousands of athletes, including some women who wear hijabs, are arriving to participate in the Olympics in Paris, highlighting international tensions in France regarding national identity and discrimination against Muslims.
Sila, a member of the French 4x400 meter relay team, expressed on her Instagram account on Monday that her hijab would prevent her from attending the grand opening ceremony this Friday along the Seine River. She stated, "You have been chosen to participate in the Olympics held in your country, but you cannot attend the opening ceremony because you are wearing a scarf on your head."
France, home to the largest Muslim minority in Europe, enforces laws to protect the principle of secularism, which prohibits public employees and school students from wearing religious symbols and clothing in public institutions. Human rights groups assert that these rules amount to actual discrimination against Muslims.
In a bid to avoid an embarrassing internal dispute before the world, French government officials and Olympic executives expressed their willingness to find a resolution to Sila's issue, although the proposed solution remains unclear. French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra stated on Wednesday, "Our citizens expect us to adhere to the principles of secularism, but we also need to be creative about solutions that make everyone feel comfortable." She added that Sila "understands our principles and rules."
David Lappartient, president of the French Olympic Committee, mentioned that the French Olympic mission "is engaged in a public service mission, and in this regard, it is obliged to respect secularism." The International Olympic Committee has no rules against wearing religious head coverings. Maria Hurtado, a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticized the French government in September of last year for its stance on French female athletes' hijabs during the Olympics.
