A day after French police banned a protest by the ‘Hijabeuses’ – female soccer players fighting for the right to wear a veil – the ban was overturned by a Paris court. The victories are starting to pile up for the activist group: France’s Equality Minister has also expressed her support for them. The issue is becoming a hot topic in French politics, two months before the presidential election.
On Wednesday, at 6:30pm, a dozen ‘Hijabeuses’, a collective of women footballers who campaign for the right to wear the veil during sports competitions, gathered on a lawn in front of the esplanade des Invalides in Paris. .
“Soccer for all”, “Let’s play”: with unfurled banners, the young players improvised, in a friendly atmosphere, a match in the dark, illuminated by the flashes of telephones and light projectors.
An hour earlier, the administrative court had suspended the prefectural order prohibiting the concentration of ‘Hijabeuses’, scheduled for 4:30 pm that same day, on the Esplanade des Invalides, near the National Assembly. The girls were scheduled to demonstrate against an amendment banning “the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols” at sporting events, which was being debated by lawmakers on Wednesday.
Ten days earlier, they had organized a football match in the Luxembourg garden, at the foot of the Senate, a few days after the vote on the amendment carried out by the senators of Les Républicains (LR), approved by 160 votes in favor and 143 against. The vote took place in the framework of the review of the sports bill of the LRM.
When the decision of the administrative court was announced, the players wanted to gather to celebrate what they consider their victory. “We wanted to come for the symbolism. When we found out at 5:45pm that the ban had been lifted by the police headquarters, we said we were going to come here because we had won,” explains Anna Agueb-Porterie, an activist in charge of the organization of local communities within the Alliance Citoyenne association, which fights alongside the ‘Hijabeuses’.
“Political Islam”
Twenty-four hours earlier, the Paris police prefecture declared: “It is to be feared that this demonstration will attract, in addition to the people who support it, people hostile to the cause defended and likely to clash with the former.”
He also referred to an “important division in society between supporters of the affirmation of a political Islam, which defends the use of the veil by women, and supporters of the values of equality between women and men” and highlighted the “current electoral context”, two months before the presidential elections.
For the group, which has nearly a hundred members throughout France, these “scandalous” arguments are based on nothing more than racist prejudice and deliberate political confusion.
The activists welcomed the decision of the administrative court, which on Wednesday declared that the prefecture’s order constituted “a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of the fundamental freedom of the right to demonstrate”, ordering the payment of a fine of 1,000 euros to the association ‘Les Hijabeuses’ and the League of Human Rights (LDH).
political storm
The amendment, which is being debated in both houses of Parliament, has also provoked numerous reactions from politicians.
LR deputy Eric Ciotti, adviser to Valérie Pécresse, denounced on Wednesday a “submission” to Islamism by the majority and the Executive, who refuse to include in the law the prohibition of the veil in sports competitions.
For his part, Régis Juanico (PS) spoke out against the comments made by the deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes, stating that sport is “a vehicle for republican integration and brotherhood, not hate or division.” Former Minister Marie-George Buffet (PCF) called for “confidence” so that “secularism and neutrality are at the center of our sports practices.”
Asked about the ‘hijabeuses’, the Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Elisabeth Moreno, said on Thursday that women “have the right to wear the Islamic veil to play” on a soccer field.
“The law says that these girls can wear the veil and play soccer. Today, wearing the veil is not prohibited on soccer fields. I want the law to be respected,” added the minister at LCI.
The French Football Federation, in the line of fire
This novelty does not make the soccer players forget the fight that the group has been promoting since 2020: to achieve the repeal of article 1 of the French Football Federation (FFF), which prohibits “any sign or clothing that ostensibly expresses a political, philosophical, religious affiliation or trade union. The senators want to extend this ban to all federations.
In November 2021, the group had referred the matter to the Council of State, pointing to article 1 of the FFF regulations.
“Our objective is to fight against the exclusion and prohibition of women who wear the veil in sports competitions. Today I believe that we do not have to choose between wearing the veil and playing sports. We have to go back to the law, to what the freedom of conscience and secularism, and as soon as we realize that the law is on our side, we realize that we are legitimate,” says Inés, 21, general secretary of the ‘Hijabeuses’ association.
“What we ask today is that the FFF change its rules and allow all women to express themselves, enjoy their passion and participate in competitions without having the nerves in their stomachs or the stress of wondering ‘will I be able to play today or not?’ ”
sports support
Launched in 2020, the movement organizes matches, sit-ins and actions via social media to protest the FFF which, unlike FIFA, refuses to allow veiled female footballers to participate in official sports competitions.
Zamya, who has been an intern for six months at Alliance Citoyenne and is a member of the ‘Hijabeuses’ committee, came to support the collective on Wednesday night.
“I love football, and when I saw them play, I told myself that it was not possible that they could not participate in competitions just because they were wearing a veil. They are crazy talented. We have Mbappés, Ronaldinhos, I’m not even exaggerating (laughs). I’m relieved. The fight continues. Our goal remains to get the FFF to authorize veiling in competition. Next step, the FFF!”
Although they were deprived of their demonstration, they obtained the support of some fifty personalities from the world of sport – Lilian Thuram, Audrey Tcheuméo and Candice Prévost – who signed a tribune entitled ‘Laissez jouer les hijabeuses!’, published in ‘liberation‘.
As the two chambers were unable to reach an agreement, the text must return to the Senate on February 16, before returning to the Assembly for final approval on February 24. The deputies will have the last word.
*This article was adapted from its French original.
A day after French police banned a protest by the ‘Hijabeuses’ – female soccer players fighting for the right to wear a veil – the ban was overturned by a Paris court. The victories are starting to pile up for the activist group: France’s Equality Minister has also expressed her support for them. The issue is becoming a hot topic in French politics, two months before the presidential election.
On Wednesday, at 6:30pm, a dozen ‘Hijabeuses’, a collective of women footballers who campaign for the right to wear the veil during sports competitions, gathered on a lawn in front of the esplanade des Invalides in Paris. .
“Soccer for all”, “Let’s play”: with unfurled banners, the young players improvised, in a friendly atmosphere, a match in the dark, illuminated by the flashes of telephones and light projectors.
An hour earlier, the administrative court had suspended the prefectural order prohibiting the concentration of ‘Hijabeuses’, scheduled for 4:30 pm that same day, on the Esplanade des Invalides, near the National Assembly. The girls were scheduled to demonstrate against an amendment banning “the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols” at sporting events, which was being debated by lawmakers on Wednesday.
Ten days earlier, they had organized a football match in the Luxembourg garden, at the foot of the Senate, a few days after the vote on the amendment carried out by the senators of Les Républicains (LR), approved by 160 votes in favor and 143 against. The vote took place in the framework of the review of the sports bill of the LRM.
When the decision of the administrative court was announced, the players wanted to gather to celebrate what they consider their victory. “We wanted to come for the symbolism. When we found out at 5:45pm that the ban had been lifted by the police headquarters, we said we were going to come here because we had won,” explains Anna Agueb-Porterie, an activist in charge of the organization of local communities within the Alliance Citoyenne association, which fights alongside the ‘Hijabeuses’.
“Political Islam”
Twenty-four hours earlier, the Paris police prefecture declared: “It is to be feared that this demonstration will attract, in addition to the people who support it, people hostile to the cause defended and likely to clash with the former.”
He also referred to an “important division in society between supporters of the affirmation of a political Islam, which defends the use of the veil by women, and supporters of the values of equality between women and men” and highlighted the “current electoral context”, two months before the presidential elections.
For the group, which has nearly a hundred members throughout France, these “scandalous” arguments are based on nothing more than racist prejudice and deliberate political confusion.
The activists welcomed the decision of the administrative court, which on Wednesday declared that the prefecture’s order constituted “a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of the fundamental freedom of the right to demonstrate”, ordering the payment of a fine of 1,000 euros to the association ‘Les Hijabeuses’ and the League of Human Rights (LDH).
political storm
The amendment, which is being debated in both houses of Parliament, has also provoked numerous reactions from politicians.
LR deputy Eric Ciotti, adviser to Valérie Pécresse, denounced on Wednesday a “submission” to Islamism by the majority and the Executive, who refuse to include in the law the prohibition of the veil in sports competitions.
For his part, Régis Juanico (PS) spoke out against the comments made by the deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes, stating that sport is “a vehicle for republican integration and brotherhood, not hate or division.” Former Minister Marie-George Buffet (PCF) called for “confidence” so that “secularism and neutrality are at the center of our sports practices.”
Asked about the ‘hijabeuses’, the Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Elisabeth Moreno, said on Thursday that women “have the right to wear the Islamic veil to play” on a soccer field.
“The law says that these girls can wear the veil and play soccer. Today, wearing the veil is not prohibited on soccer fields. I want the law to be respected,” added the minister at LCI.
The French Football Federation, in the line of fire
This novelty does not make the soccer players forget the fight that the group has been promoting since 2020: to achieve the repeal of article 1 of the French Football Federation (FFF), which prohibits “any sign or clothing that ostensibly expresses a political, philosophical, religious affiliation or trade union. The senators want to extend this ban to all federations.
In November 2021, the group had referred the matter to the Council of State, pointing to article 1 of the FFF regulations.
“Our objective is to fight against the exclusion and prohibition of women who wear the veil in sports competitions. Today I believe that we do not have to choose between wearing the veil and playing sports. We have to go back to the law, to what the freedom of conscience and secularism, and as soon as we realize that the law is on our side, we realize that we are legitimate,” says Inés, 21, general secretary of the ‘Hijabeuses’ association.
“What we ask today is that the FFF change its rules and allow all women to express themselves, enjoy their passion and participate in competitions without having the nerves in their stomachs or the stress of wondering ‘will I be able to play today or not?’ ”
sports support
Launched in 2020, the movement organizes matches, sit-ins and actions via social media to protest the FFF which, unlike FIFA, refuses to allow veiled female footballers to participate in official sports competitions.
Zamya, who has been an intern for six months at Alliance Citoyenne and is a member of the ‘Hijabeuses’ committee, came to support the collective on Wednesday night.
“I love football, and when I saw them play, I told myself that it was not possible that they could not participate in competitions just because they were wearing a veil. They are crazy talented. We have Mbappés, Ronaldinhos, I’m not even exaggerating (laughs). I’m relieved. The fight continues. Our goal remains to get the FFF to authorize veiling in competition. Next step, the FFF!”
Although they were deprived of their demonstration, they obtained the support of some fifty personalities from the world of sport – Lilian Thuram, Audrey Tcheuméo and Candice Prévost – who signed a tribune entitled ‘Laissez jouer les hijabeuses!’, published in ‘liberation‘.
As the two chambers were unable to reach an agreement, the text must return to the Senate on February 16, before returning to the Assembly for final approval on February 24. The deputies will have the last word.
*This article was adapted from its French original.
A day after French police banned a protest by the ‘Hijabeuses’ – female soccer players fighting for the right to wear a veil – the ban was overturned by a Paris court. The victories are starting to pile up for the activist group: France’s Equality Minister has also expressed her support for them. The issue is becoming a hot topic in French politics, two months before the presidential election.
On Wednesday, at 6:30pm, a dozen ‘Hijabeuses’, a collective of women footballers who campaign for the right to wear the veil during sports competitions, gathered on a lawn in front of the esplanade des Invalides in Paris. .
“Soccer for all”, “Let’s play”: with unfurled banners, the young players improvised, in a friendly atmosphere, a match in the dark, illuminated by the flashes of telephones and light projectors.
An hour earlier, the administrative court had suspended the prefectural order prohibiting the concentration of ‘Hijabeuses’, scheduled for 4:30 pm that same day, on the Esplanade des Invalides, near the National Assembly. The girls were scheduled to demonstrate against an amendment banning “the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols” at sporting events, which was being debated by lawmakers on Wednesday.
Ten days earlier, they had organized a football match in the Luxembourg garden, at the foot of the Senate, a few days after the vote on the amendment carried out by the senators of Les Républicains (LR), approved by 160 votes in favor and 143 against. The vote took place in the framework of the review of the sports bill of the LRM.
When the decision of the administrative court was announced, the players wanted to gather to celebrate what they consider their victory. “We wanted to come for the symbolism. When we found out at 5:45pm that the ban had been lifted by the police headquarters, we said we were going to come here because we had won,” explains Anna Agueb-Porterie, an activist in charge of the organization of local communities within the Alliance Citoyenne association, which fights alongside the ‘Hijabeuses’.
“Political Islam”
Twenty-four hours earlier, the Paris police prefecture declared: “It is to be feared that this demonstration will attract, in addition to the people who support it, people hostile to the cause defended and likely to clash with the former.”
He also referred to an “important division in society between supporters of the affirmation of a political Islam, which defends the use of the veil by women, and supporters of the values of equality between women and men” and highlighted the “current electoral context”, two months before the presidential elections.
For the group, which has nearly a hundred members throughout France, these “scandalous” arguments are based on nothing more than racist prejudice and deliberate political confusion.
The activists welcomed the decision of the administrative court, which on Wednesday declared that the prefecture’s order constituted “a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of the fundamental freedom of the right to demonstrate”, ordering the payment of a fine of 1,000 euros to the association ‘Les Hijabeuses’ and the League of Human Rights (LDH).
political storm
The amendment, which is being debated in both houses of Parliament, has also provoked numerous reactions from politicians.
LR deputy Eric Ciotti, adviser to Valérie Pécresse, denounced on Wednesday a “submission” to Islamism by the majority and the Executive, who refuse to include in the law the prohibition of the veil in sports competitions.
For his part, Régis Juanico (PS) spoke out against the comments made by the deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes, stating that sport is “a vehicle for republican integration and brotherhood, not hate or division.” Former Minister Marie-George Buffet (PCF) called for “confidence” so that “secularism and neutrality are at the center of our sports practices.”
Asked about the ‘hijabeuses’, the Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Elisabeth Moreno, said on Thursday that women “have the right to wear the Islamic veil to play” on a soccer field.
“The law says that these girls can wear the veil and play soccer. Today, wearing the veil is not prohibited on soccer fields. I want the law to be respected,” added the minister at LCI.
The French Football Federation, in the line of fire
This novelty does not make the soccer players forget the fight that the group has been promoting since 2020: to achieve the repeal of article 1 of the French Football Federation (FFF), which prohibits “any sign or clothing that ostensibly expresses a political, philosophical, religious affiliation or trade union. The senators want to extend this ban to all federations.
In November 2021, the group had referred the matter to the Council of State, pointing to article 1 of the FFF regulations.
“Our objective is to fight against the exclusion and prohibition of women who wear the veil in sports competitions. Today I believe that we do not have to choose between wearing the veil and playing sports. We have to go back to the law, to what the freedom of conscience and secularism, and as soon as we realize that the law is on our side, we realize that we are legitimate,” says Inés, 21, general secretary of the ‘Hijabeuses’ association.
“What we ask today is that the FFF change its rules and allow all women to express themselves, enjoy their passion and participate in competitions without having the nerves in their stomachs or the stress of wondering ‘will I be able to play today or not?’ ”
sports support
Launched in 2020, the movement organizes matches, sit-ins and actions via social media to protest the FFF which, unlike FIFA, refuses to allow veiled female footballers to participate in official sports competitions.
Zamya, who has been an intern for six months at Alliance Citoyenne and is a member of the ‘Hijabeuses’ committee, came to support the collective on Wednesday night.
“I love football, and when I saw them play, I told myself that it was not possible that they could not participate in competitions just because they were wearing a veil. They are crazy talented. We have Mbappés, Ronaldinhos, I’m not even exaggerating (laughs). I’m relieved. The fight continues. Our goal remains to get the FFF to authorize veiling in competition. Next step, the FFF!”
Although they were deprived of their demonstration, they obtained the support of some fifty personalities from the world of sport – Lilian Thuram, Audrey Tcheuméo and Candice Prévost – who signed a tribune entitled ‘Laissez jouer les hijabeuses!’, published in ‘liberation‘.
As the two chambers were unable to reach an agreement, the text must return to the Senate on February 16, before returning to the Assembly for final approval on February 24. The deputies will have the last word.
*This article was adapted from its French original.
A day after French police banned a protest by the ‘Hijabeuses’ – female soccer players fighting for the right to wear a veil – the ban was overturned by a Paris court. The victories are starting to pile up for the activist group: France’s Equality Minister has also expressed her support for them. The issue is becoming a hot topic in French politics, two months before the presidential election.
On Wednesday, at 6:30pm, a dozen ‘Hijabeuses’, a collective of women footballers who campaign for the right to wear the veil during sports competitions, gathered on a lawn in front of the esplanade des Invalides in Paris. .
“Soccer for all”, “Let’s play”: with unfurled banners, the young players improvised, in a friendly atmosphere, a match in the dark, illuminated by the flashes of telephones and light projectors.
An hour earlier, the administrative court had suspended the prefectural order prohibiting the concentration of ‘Hijabeuses’, scheduled for 4:30 pm that same day, on the Esplanade des Invalides, near the National Assembly. The girls were scheduled to demonstrate against an amendment banning “the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols” at sporting events, which was being debated by lawmakers on Wednesday.
Ten days earlier, they had organized a football match in the Luxembourg garden, at the foot of the Senate, a few days after the vote on the amendment carried out by the senators of Les Républicains (LR), approved by 160 votes in favor and 143 against. The vote took place in the framework of the review of the sports bill of the LRM.
When the decision of the administrative court was announced, the players wanted to gather to celebrate what they consider their victory. “We wanted to come for the symbolism. When we found out at 5:45pm that the ban had been lifted by the police headquarters, we said we were going to come here because we had won,” explains Anna Agueb-Porterie, an activist in charge of the organization of local communities within the Alliance Citoyenne association, which fights alongside the ‘Hijabeuses’.
“Political Islam”
Twenty-four hours earlier, the Paris police prefecture declared: “It is to be feared that this demonstration will attract, in addition to the people who support it, people hostile to the cause defended and likely to clash with the former.”
He also referred to an “important division in society between supporters of the affirmation of a political Islam, which defends the use of the veil by women, and supporters of the values of equality between women and men” and highlighted the “current electoral context”, two months before the presidential elections.
For the group, which has nearly a hundred members throughout France, these “scandalous” arguments are based on nothing more than racist prejudice and deliberate political confusion.
The activists welcomed the decision of the administrative court, which on Wednesday declared that the prefecture’s order constituted “a serious and manifestly illegal infringement of the fundamental freedom of the right to demonstrate”, ordering the payment of a fine of 1,000 euros to the association ‘Les Hijabeuses’ and the League of Human Rights (LDH).
political storm
The amendment, which is being debated in both houses of Parliament, has also provoked numerous reactions from politicians.
LR deputy Eric Ciotti, adviser to Valérie Pécresse, denounced on Wednesday a “submission” to Islamism by the majority and the Executive, who refuse to include in the law the prohibition of the veil in sports competitions.
For his part, Régis Juanico (PS) spoke out against the comments made by the deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes, stating that sport is “a vehicle for republican integration and brotherhood, not hate or division.” Former Minister Marie-George Buffet (PCF) called for “confidence” so that “secularism and neutrality are at the center of our sports practices.”
Asked about the ‘hijabeuses’, the Minister of Equality between Women and Men, Elisabeth Moreno, said on Thursday that women “have the right to wear the Islamic veil to play” on a soccer field.
“The law says that these girls can wear the veil and play soccer. Today, wearing the veil is not prohibited on soccer fields. I want the law to be respected,” added the minister at LCI.
The French Football Federation, in the line of fire
This novelty does not make the soccer players forget the fight that the group has been promoting since 2020: to achieve the repeal of article 1 of the French Football Federation (FFF), which prohibits “any sign or clothing that ostensibly expresses a political, philosophical, religious affiliation or trade union. The senators want to extend this ban to all federations.
In November 2021, the group had referred the matter to the Council of State, pointing to article 1 of the FFF regulations.
“Our objective is to fight against the exclusion and prohibition of women who wear the veil in sports competitions. Today I believe that we do not have to choose between wearing the veil and playing sports. We have to go back to the law, to what the freedom of conscience and secularism, and as soon as we realize that the law is on our side, we realize that we are legitimate,” says Inés, 21, general secretary of the ‘Hijabeuses’ association.
“What we ask today is that the FFF change its rules and allow all women to express themselves, enjoy their passion and participate in competitions without having the nerves in their stomachs or the stress of wondering ‘will I be able to play today or not?’ ”
sports support
Launched in 2020, the movement organizes matches, sit-ins and actions via social media to protest the FFF which, unlike FIFA, refuses to allow veiled female footballers to participate in official sports competitions.
Zamya, who has been an intern for six months at Alliance Citoyenne and is a member of the ‘Hijabeuses’ committee, came to support the collective on Wednesday night.
“I love football, and when I saw them play, I told myself that it was not possible that they could not participate in competitions just because they were wearing a veil. They are crazy talented. We have Mbappés, Ronaldinhos, I’m not even exaggerating (laughs). I’m relieved. The fight continues. Our goal remains to get the FFF to authorize veiling in competition. Next step, the FFF!”
Although they were deprived of their demonstration, they obtained the support of some fifty personalities from the world of sport – Lilian Thuram, Audrey Tcheuméo and Candice Prévost – who signed a tribune entitled ‘Laissez jouer les hijabeuses!’, published in ‘liberation‘.
As the two chambers were unable to reach an agreement, the text must return to the Senate on February 16, before returning to the Assembly for final approval on February 24. The deputies will have the last word.
*This article was adapted from its French original.