​​​​PARIS/ISTANBUL

A French bill banning headscarves in sports is exclusivism, a representative organization for youth in sports told Anadolu.

“This law directly targets the exclusion of women who wear a sports headscarf,” said ANESTAPS President Lily Rogier.

Rogier said the bill has sidelined thousands of women in France and excludes them from their careers and access to professional integration.

“For us, it made no sense, especially in the context of the government's push to increase women's participation in sports,” she said.

Rogier said although the law is “supposedly” about all religious symbols, it was “clear” that the primary aim was to ban headscarves for female players.

“The sports head covering is a symbol of peace. However, once again, sport is being misused for political purposes,” said Rogier.

She also expressed “deep concern” for younger generations getting discouraged by witnessing top-level athletes being forced to choose between their faith and sports.

The French Senate will debate and vote on a bill to extend the ban on religious symbols, including headscarves, to all sports competitions in France.

In addition to the headscarf ban, the proposed legislation also seeks to prohibit collective prayers in publicly funded sports facilities.

ANESTAPS was among groups who rejected the bill on Tuesday along with Amnesty International.

In 2022, another attempt to ban religious headwear in sports was rejected by the Senate.

Even if senators support the bill, it must be approved by France’s divided lower house to become law.