Sounkamba Sylla: French sprinter to use cap instead of hijab during Paris Olympics opening ceremony

Last updated on July 27th, 2024 at 10:41 am

Prominent French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla – part of the country’s 400 m women’s and mixed relay teams – can finally participate in the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, putting on a cap to cover her hair instead of a hijab.

The positive development comes as the athlete and the French Olympic Committee reached an agreement on July 24. The opening ceremony includes a parade by athletes on the Seine River. The French delegation is putting on uniforms by Berluti, part of the LVMH Group.

France enforces a strict principle of ‘laïcité’ – loosely translated as secularism. The country has imposed a ban on athletes from the country using headscarves during the Games. The ban has been making headlines across the globe and is being criticised too.

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Rights groups stress that the prohibition exposes “discriminatory double standards ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games” and “makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first gender-equal Olympics,” reported Sky Sports.

Posting a message on her Instagram account, the 26-year-old Sounkamba Sylla highlighted that an agreement had been reached and she could finally participate in the ceremony, thanking “from the bottom of my heart for your mobilisation and support since the beginning.”

Such a development is not unprecedented for the French sprinter. During the European Championships in Rome earlier this year, organisers asked her to compete putting on a blue cap that had a strip of fabric to cover her hair.