France: New Law Compels Reform of Football Policy that Discriminates against Muslim Women

On 24 February France adopted a new law aimed at democratising access to sports. A group of Senateurs ultimately failed in their repeated attempts to introduce a discriminatory amendment intended to prohibit women who choose to wear headscarves from participating in all sporting competitions and events organized by state-regulated sports federations and their associate organizations. However, these lawmakers successfully hijacked the legislative process ensuring that parliamentary sessions were stained with inflammatory rhetoric, offensive stereotyping and debates that stigmatised Muslim women.

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Sport has the potential to be a catalyst for human development, unity, and freedom, but too often it instead brings harm to its athletes, fans, and communities. We exist to uncover and rectify the many abuses that exist both in and around sport. We aim to transform sports into an authentic force for good.