Paris: The French Senate has approved a bill to ban all religious symbols, including the hijab, in sports competitions, which has been strongly criticized by human rights activists and left-wing politicians.
France’s right-wing majority Senate approved the controversial bill by 210 votes to 81 votes, under which the wearing of symbols or clothing that show political or religious affiliation will be banned in all sports competitions.
The bill still needs approval in the National Assembly to become law, but the right-wing government has announced its full support for it.
Politicians supporting the bill say that the law is in line with the principles of secularism in France and that any kind of religious symbols must be kept out of sports. However, left-wing politicians, human rights organizations and the Muslim community have called it a discriminatory and Islamophobic measure.
Amnesty International warned that the law would further religious, racial and gender discrimination against Muslim women. UN experts have also called France’s ban on the hijab disproportionate and discriminatory.
French Interior Minister François-Noël Buffet supported the bill, saying it was an important step against separatism in the country. Right-wing senator Michel Savin called the ban on religious symbols in sports necessary to protect France’s secular principles.
