Olympic Games: Aussie Muslim boxer takes another swipe at France for enforcing hijab ban in Paris

Australian Muslim boxer Tina Rahimi has again criticised France for not allowing its athletes to wear headscarves at the Paris Olympics.

The 28-year-old Rahimi is one of 12 Australian fighters who qualified for Paris. Australia is sending its largest boxing team ever to the Games.

Rahimi, from Bankstown in Sydney’s west, wears a full hijab during her competitions and won bronze in the featherweight class at last year’s Commonwealth Games.

France announced in April that it would ban its athletes from wearing the hijab, with French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera saying the decision was taken to uphold the principle of secularism.

The host country faced heavy criticism, both from France and from international human rights organizations. Rahimi also made himself heard in the run-up to the Games.

And now, ahead of her fight on Friday, Rahimi has once again launched a fierce attack on France.

“Women have the right to choose how they dress,” she posted on Instagram. “With or without hijab. I choose to wear hijab as part of my religion and I am proud to do so.

“You shouldn’t have to choose between your faith/religion and your sport,” Rahimi added. “That’s what French athletes are forced to do.

“It doesn’t matter how you look or dress, what your ethnicity is or what religion you practice,” Rahimi added in her post.

“We all come together to achieve that one dream. To compete and win. No one should be excluded. Discrimination is not welcome in sport, especially not in the Olympics and what it stands for.”

Her post follows on from her earlier comments on the French position.

“This has to do with the laws in France,” Rahimi said in an earlier article. message on social media.

‘Luckily I can still wear my hijab, which I am very grateful for.

“But it’s such a shame for the athletes in France because it has nothing to do with their performance. It shouldn’t get in the way of being an athlete.

“It’s so hard for you to be an Olympic athlete and think that you have to give up your faith to compete in these events. I believe that everyone should be equal.

‘What effect is my hijab going to have on anything? People grow up wanting to go to the Olympics and that’s all they work towards and all they want to achieve. That would take away someone’s dream.

‘I support all French girls… It’s really a shame.’

France is the only country in Europe that bans women wearing headscarves from participating in most national sporting competitions.

Human rights groups have said the policy not only violates the IOC’s own guidelines, but also international treaty obligations that France must adhere to.

In June 2023, the French Council of State upheld a ban on female footballers wearing headscarves during matches, after the ban had already been imposed by the French Football Federation.

Human rights organizations have long been concerned about the consequences of women wearing headscarves being prevented from participating in sports.

According to Amnesty International, such bans have negative mental and physical consequences for women and cause “humiliation, trauma and fear”.

Rahimi says the decision is unfortunate and a blow to people’s Olympic dreams

The French approach to the Olympic Games has also attracted the attention of the United Nations.

While the UN did not comment directly on the ban, the spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva said in a veiled condemnation after the policy was announced that “no one should tell a woman what she should or should not wear.”

She also pointed out that ‘discriminatory practices against a group can have harmful consequences’, adding: ‘Restrictions on the expression of religions or beliefs, such as the choice of clothing, are only acceptable under very specific circumstances’