New Delhi: While playing an impromptu game of football in Paris's Luxembourg Gardens, the Hijab-wearing footballers protested against the decision of banning them from wearing the head covering in competitions.
"They exclude us, whereas the fundamental values of football and sport are to unite and to come together," said a female footballer to AFP.
Prior, to January 19, the French Senate has cast a ballot for prohibiting the wearing of headscarves in sports rivalries, contending that neutrality is a requirement on the field of play.
The French upper legislative house voted late Tuesday for altering a proposed law specifying that the wearing "of conspicuous religious symbols is prohibited" to participate in occasions and competitions organized by sports organizations.
In their text, legislators plainly said that the correction targets forbidding "the wearing of the veil in sports contests." They added that headscarves can put in danger the security of competitors wearing them when they practice their discipline.
The amendment proposed by the right-wing group Les Republicains and went against by the French government was embraced with 160 votes in favour, and 143 against. A commission made out of individuals from the Senate and the lower house should now assemble to observe a think twice about the text before it is distributed, meaning the correction can, in any case, be eradicated.
It is indistinct whether the ban would be implemented for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Olympic organizing committee did not immediately answer a request for comment.
“Today, there is legal uncertainty about the wearing of religious symbols, and it is necessary for the state to clearly define the rules,” the amendment voted by senators read. “If the wearing of the veil is not explicitly forbidden, we could see the emergence of community sports clubs promoting certain religious signs".