Egyptian volleyball player hits out at France’s hijab ban after facing bikini-clad opposition

Host nation stands accused of impinging on its own competitors’ basic freedoms with bar on religious headscarves

A member of Egypt’s volleyball team has hit out against the hijab ban that France has imposed on its own athletes at the Paris Games.
There were contrasting kits at the Eiffel Tower Stadium on Thursday as Egyptian athletes Marwa Abdelhady and Doaa Elghobashy competed fully clothed and wore a hijab against Spanish pair Liliana Fernández Steiner and Paula Soria Gutiérrez, who were both in bikinis.
The Egyptians hugged each other in their long-sleeved tops after losing 2-0 and then condemned the country’s ban, which applies only to French athletes at the Games. Football, basketball, volleyball and boxing are among the sports where the ban is in place.
“I want to play in my hijab, she wants to play in a bikini — everything is OK, if you want to be naked or wear a hijab. Just respect all different cultures and religions,” Elghobashy told Swedish newspaper Expressen.
“I don’t tell you to wear a hijab and you don’t tell me to wear a bikini. No one can tell me how to dress. It’s a free country, everyone should be allowed to do what they want.”
France’s long history of banning religious and politically justified symbols to uphold its principle of “laïcité” — or secularism — has been brought into sharp focus during the Games.
French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla vented her disappointment at, initially, being barred from taking part in last week’s opening ceremony due to her headscarf. A last-minute agreement was reached for Sylla to cover her hair with a cap so she could join the event.
Last month, several human-rights organisations, including Amnesty International, wrote to the International Olympic Committee condemning the ban and urging it to intervene.
“The bans imposed by the French sports authorities are discriminatory and prevent Muslim athletes who decide to wear the hijab from exercising their human right to play sport without discrimination of any kind,” the letter said.
“The bans also fly in the face of the human-rights requirements for host countries and the IOC strategic framework on human rights, as well as being antithetical to the fundamental principles of Olympism.”
There is no national law or policy banning hijabs in sports. Individual sporting federations are in charge of their own regulations over whether to prohibit the religious item.
Cultural and religious sensitivities have often been spotlighted in beach volleyball. Female competitors have historically played in bikinis since it was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
The International Federation of Volleyball relaxed its clothing regulations ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, allowing women to compete in shorts and sleeved tops instead of sports bras and briefs.
“I love playing in a hijab, not with a bikini,” said Elghobashy, who called the rule change by volleyball’s governing body a sign of “respect”.
“For another girl, you might not like [it] — it’s OK for you. It’s freedom, I felt comfortable and good. The hijab is a part of me. It’s not [that way] for everyone.”