Ibtihaj Muhammad who is an Olympian, the first Muslim female medalist, and hijabi icon has spoken out on the hijab ban created by the French government to further violate the rights of Muslim citizens.
Ibtihaj Muhammad has spoken out against France’s hijab ban on IG
Ibtihaj publicly addressed the ban through her Instagram account, captioning “the French Senate has voted to ban hijabs in sports competitions, echoing an already longstanding hijab ban by the French football federation. We’re watching in real-time the French government violate the rights of its Muslim citizens.”
The French government, once again, is under the spotlight for its discrimination against Muslims and to be exact, Muslim women. This discrimination first began back in 2011, when the government issued a new law that bans the wear of veils, niqabs and burqas, with a €150 (Dhs650) fine attached to it.
The Olympian addressed this issue in her Instagram post, saying that “governments and officials (In France, India, Quebec, etc) mask their discrimination with legislation” because France’s reasoning to the banning is that it “harms the unity and secularism of the French Republic.” Ibtihaj Muhammad went on, counter-arguing that statement with: “Religious freedom is a human right and we must protect it at all costs.”
She ended her post with a strong note: “We must stand together and vehemently denounce discrimination in all of its forms. We will not be silent as discriminatory governments revoke the freedoms of our sisters. Every woman should have the choice to wear what she wants and the opportunity to play sports, regardless of her faith. Challenging us on hijab only strengthens our resolve to wear it. Together we fight.”
This isn’t the first time Ibtihaj Muhammad has spoken out on the discrimination she faces, being a hijabi athlete, when she told The Guardian that her former coach accused her of being “lazy” and “slacking off” during the holy month of Ramadan.
Via Instagram