Activists slam France hijab ban saying 'sports should be inclusive'
French Muslim basketball player Diaba Konate said she had hoped to represent her country at the Paris Olympics but did not stand a chance because she wears a headscarf.
"Despite my desire and skills, I'm not actually allowed to play for France because of discriminatory policies," the 24-year-old said during a press conference on Tuesday, organised by rights groups to urge France to overturn bans on the Muslim headscarf in sport.
"It's very frustrating to be excluded from representing my home country, simply because of my religious identity," said the athlete who has played on France's national youth team and has a career in college basketball in the United States.
"I strongly believe that sports should be inclusive," she said.
Fighting bans
France has invoked its strict rules on secularism to ban its athletes from wearing religious symbols during the Paris Olympics from 26 July to 11 August.
This has barred French women wearing a headscarf from competing at the international event, on top of their being excluded from soccer and basketball tournaments nationwide.
The Sport & Rights Alliance - whose partners include Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International - on Tuesday called for an end to what it described as discriminatory bans.
It said it had called on the International Olympic Committee to show "its commitment to gender equality" in the run-up to the Games and put pressure on the French authorities, but had not received a response.
They prohibit pupils and teachers in schools as well as civil servants from wearing "ostentatious" religious symbols.
