French Olympic sprinter Sounkamba Sylla took to social media days before the 2024 Olympic Games began, saying she would not be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony because of her hijab.
“You are selected for the Olympics, organized in your country, but you can’t participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,” Sylla wrote on her private Instagram, according to The Associated Press.
The criticism was the latest in an ongoing controversy over France’s rule prohibiting female Muslim athletes from wearing the hijab, or headscarves, during the Olympics. The athletes, while competing for France, are considering civil servants and must adhere to principles of secularism, according to the country’s rules.
French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra later said she’d be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony and the Games by covering her hair in a way that did not appear religious.
An overview of the Trocadero venue …