On Track: The Great Olympic Cover-up

June 2011

Roqaya al-Gassra, an athlete from Bahrain, competed in the 400 metres in Beijing totally covered, thus openly demonstrating a political and religious stance. In a newspaper article at the time she said that she had decided to wear Islamic dress, "to show the Muslim tradition" and "to show that all Muslim women can succeed in sport wearing a veil". (She has since been suspended for two years for failing an out-of-competition drugs test.)

The Ligue du Droit International des Femmes (International League of Women's Rights) is leading the campaign to end discrimination towards women at the Olympics. Founded by the French feminist and intellectual Simone de Beauvoir in 1983, LDIF is part of France's largest coalition of women's groups and is backed by the European Women's Lobby, a network of 2,500 NGOs.

LDIF aims to promote universal rights for women whatever their culture or religion. Its president, Annie Sugier, says that its members consider the Islamic headscarf an insult to liberty, and men-only delegations akin to apartheid. "The IOC has shown its hypocrisy on this matter. Would Jewish members of a delegation be allowed to take part in events whilst wearing Hasidic attire, or a Christian whilst wearing a crucifix? If we are to reject symbols representing the struggle against racial discrimination, why should we support those that clearly denote gender apartheid?"

The LDIF views are supported by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, all of which have passed resolutions on the full participation of women in the Olympics. Why, then is it possible for the IOC to flout the rules and go against the spirit of the Olympics when it comes to the participation of some Islamic countries?

Christophe De Kepper, chief of staff at the IOC, responded to several letters of complaint from LDIF but ignored the central question. "The IOC is convinced that sport helps empower girls and women because it changes attitudes," he wrote. "When a woman athlete triumphs she often becomes a role model for her family, her community, or even her country."

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MarylinC

July 18th, 2012
12:07 PM

I've never felt comfortable about women having to cover up. The issue of choice masks the fact that many Muslim women are 'choosing' to cover up because they still feel under intense pressure from their Country to make their rulers look good. Their families, the Mosques they attend and the laws they live under, which are heavily influenced by male religeous doctrines, all heap even greater pressure on women. One only needs to look at Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban. Many women immediately started leaving home without their headscarves. If I felt women were making a completely free choice to wear a headscarf I would welcome that but it's very clear to me these are, in no way, free choices.

QUINTILLAN Ghislaine

June 6th, 2011
9:06 AM

Je partage tout à fait les points de vue présentés dans l'article "The Great Olympic" de Julie BINDEL. Il est très important que le mouvement Olympique ne cède ni aux injonctions et chantages des intégrismes ni aux sirènes des marchands du temple. Il n'y a absolument pas besoin de modifier la Charte Olympique. Il suffit que le CIO fasse respecter l'application de l'article 51 de sa Charte. Toute perspective de modification présenterait le risque de voir la Charte adaptée pour satisfaire aux désirs des Etats non respectueux de la dignité et de la liberté des femmes comme des hommes. Les fédérations sportives internationales édictent des règles vestimentaires pour leurs compétitions qui, en principe(*), sont établies pour permettre la meilleure qualité et sécurité de mouvement et de pratique. A ces fédérations et au CIO de faire respecter ces règles. (*) Certaines règles vestimentaires, notamment pour les sports féminins, cf Beach volley et badminton, destinées à rendre les joueuses plus sexy et donc plus attractives pour les médias, sont elles aussi à condamner.

Ian Townson

June 5th, 2011
5:06 PM

The West Knows Best pontificating on liberal/radical values for the uncivilised world. The same values that now have muslim women arrested in France for wearing a veil.

Bernice Dubois

June 5th, 2011
4:06 PM

Former comments have made it sufficiently clear that there is no islamic requirement whatever for wearing even the smallest head scarf, let alone anything else. Given this fact, and it is a fact, the Olympic Committee is in flagrant contradiction with its own Charter. (In fact, even if their were any religions requirements for dress, the Olympic Charter would not allow their being applied in the Olympic stadium. So their kowtowing is sheer cowardice and political "correctness". It makes a mockery of Olympic principles and we should not allow these to be so flouted.

Ian Townson

June 5th, 2011
2:06 PM

It doesn't follow that women who wear the hijab, niqab or burqa are necessarily oppressed. Look at what has happened in Egypt, Tunisia, and Yemen. Many of the active participants in the revolutions are women who are not in the least inhibited or obstructed in their activities by wearing headscarves or veils. In Yemen women revolutionaires are actively pushing the men for not being revolutionary enough! The muslim women I have met in this country struck me as being lively, intelligent, well-educated, opinionated and playing an active part in social and political life. These are not the hall marks of oppression. We should think again about propagating 'universal' values from the West-Knows-Best perspective. After all 'Enlightenment' values in France now see muslim women resisting arrest and fines for wearing the veil of their choice. This is about human rights not just about sexual inequalities. It is up to those women to make their choice not up to us to pontificate and the struggle for sexual equality for me can only happen alongside wider struggles for freedom and liberty not in isolation. As for the Olympic Games being non-political. Come on. Every time a flag is raised this is one Nation State proclaiming its determination to compete and defeat its enemies. To paraphrase George Orwell "War without the bullets."

Anonymous

June 1st, 2011
7:06 PM

Wearing the hijab is not essential to the faith. The Koran only requires that women AND men dress modestly. That does not require the hijab or even a headscarf.

sem

May 28th, 2011
8:05 PM

Interesting article. This is a tricky one, IMO the determining factor is whether wearing the hijab is essential to the faith. If it is, then insisting an athlete remove it, is itself a political statement. For the record wearing a crucifix is not a requirement of Christianity.

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