Tangberg additionally delved into France’s aggressive implementation of the hijab ban, noting how French authorities retaliated in opposition to athletes and activists who protested the ban. Ultimately, he famous, such bans maintain no “legitimate purpose.”
“The battle is still on, and the hijab ban needs to go.”
Hélène Bâ, an athlete and human rights advocate main world campaigns in opposition to discrimination in French sports activities, adopted up on Tandberg’s feedback by dismantling the “myth” of neutrality and the way it was weaponised to exclude French Muslim women from sporting the hijab.
“This is the most hypocritical thought ever,” Bâ mentioned. “Sports and sports competition are based on differentiation by age, gender, weight, height, money, race, and religion.”
Bâ defined how France’s hijab ban has successfully excluded her and lots of others from collaborating of their favorite sports activities.
“I am not able to watch a basketball game, support my friends, or attend a game,” she mentioned.
Bâ additional dismantled claims of neutrality in sports activities by highlighting the Islamophobic undercurrents that run by French society and politics. In one such instance, French Minister of Interior, Bruno Retailleau, declared at a gathering held “against Islamism” in Paris, “Long live sports and down with the veil.”
Holding sports activities accountable
Nikki Dryden, a human rights lawyer and former aggressive swimmer who represented Canada at two consecutive Summer Olympics, shifted past the hijab ban to find out the best way to maintain sports activities accountable for racial abuse and the want to maneuver “beyond slogans.”
Dryden defined that slogans corresponding to “Say No to Racism” are helpful in elevating consciousness however cease in need of actual change. They give attention to appearances, not options and are simply dismissed or weaponised on account of their ambiguity and lack of focus.
Dryden additionally tackled the idea of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and the way it was a restricted strategy that lacked a binding human rights framework. This is how points like the hijab ban nonetheless happen. Instead, sports activities should undertake enforceable frameworks aligned with worldwide regulation. Athletes and marginalised voices should form this technique, not simply be the topics of them.
As a white Canadian girl, Dryden admitted that there have been far fewer limitations stopping her from collaborating in sports activities than her fellow Muslim women panelists. She argued that these in positions of privilege like herself must be higher allies, prepared to pay attention, step apart, and observe the lead of these affected by the system.
“Use your privilege responsibly,” she mentioned.