Olympics 2024: French Olympic sprinter Sounkamba Sylla Talks Hijab Ban

by TMO Staff

French Olympic sprinter Sounkamba Sylla posted to Instagram before the 2024 Olympic Games began, alleging 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 commentary was the latest shared in the ongoing controversy over France’s rule prohibiting female Muslim athletes from wearing the hijab, or headscarves, during the Olympics. 

According to the country’s rules, athletes, while competing for France, are considered civil servants and must adhere to principles of secularism- which ban ‘religious’ attire.

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.