Footballers tackle the ban on hijabs in France
July 2, 2021
Les Hijabeuses, a collective of young French female football players who have been excluded from matches because they wear hijabs, are campaigning against the French Football Federation's (FFF) ban and encouraging other hijab-wearing women to take up the sport.
In Februrary, as part of the ‘anti-separatism’ bill, the French Senate voted to outlaw the wearing of the religious head covering in public. Alongside this, the FFF - football’s governing body in France - banned the hijab from official club matches and during international games. The legislation caused a global uproar and drew public condemnation with the hashtag #HandsOffMyHijab circulating on social media.
15-year-old Founé Diawara was told that she couldn’t wear her hijab in a football match. She refused to take it off, the referee refused to let her play and Diawara was forced to watch from the bench as her team played without her.
“I was trapped between my passion [for football] and something that is a huge part of my identity. It’s like they tried to tell me that I had to choose between the two,” she told The Guardian.
Diawara was able to channel her anger and action into Les Hijabeuses, and now at 21-years-old, is its co-president. The group was formed in 2020 by Alliance Citoyenne who organise and build unions of local citizens to demand action. The Paris-based Les Hijabeuses now has more than 100 members who play football together wearing and embracing wearing their hijabs. They connect with other football teams across France and host training sessions to encourage other young hijab-wearing women to get into football.
According to a Pew Research Study of Islam in Europe, an estimated 8.8% of the French population is Muslim and a report published by the Statista Research Department places the proportion of French Muslim women wearing a headscarf in 2019 at 31%.
Les Hijabeuse is seen as a refuge for many young women who have been scrutinized for wearing their hijab. They are also part of the larger effort to promote a more inclusive French society in the face of rising Islamaphobia and far-right groups. With the rising prejudice that began after the hijab was banned in France’s public schools in 2004, many women and girls who wear the hijab in France feel judged and are at times subject to harm.
Hawa Doucouré, 19, who studies computer science at university, considers Les Hijabeuses as her family, and the only place where she feels comfortable playing football.
“They push me and encourage me,” she told The Guardian. “As a woman, I never really went ahead and [played for a club], so when I discovered the Hijabeuse, it was a way for me to start playing.”
A lot of the young women joined the group after experiencing similar prejudice around wearing their hijabs. One of the players, Karthoum Dembélé, joined to be part of their campaign and to play freely without fearing anything happening to her.
Dembélé aspires to become a professional footballer, however, with the possibility of the FFF ban continuing, she believes that there’ll be a moment where “I won’t be able to go any further.”
Les Hijabeuses is committed to creating a change in legislation and changing the narrative of women wearing hijabs in France one match at a time. In the meantime, they support many young women, ultimately providing a safe haven for them to be themselves and recruiting more young girls to drive the movement.
Source: The Guardian