” Excluded from the field for a scarf. » This sentence is unfortunately declined ad infinitum: just replace the ground with tatami, court, lawn… Any space or sporting competition in France. The multi-medal champion of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, Sana Ndiaye, paid the price: when she was designated European vice-champion in January 2023, the young fifteen-year-old was excluded from the promising pole of the French team for the French Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu ( CFJJB). The reason ? She competed wearing the veil, going against the statute of her federation. However, the regulations of the European championships, in which she participated, did not prohibit her from wearing the veil.
A story that unfortunately is no exception
On social media, the world champion of dealing with (all field specialist wrestling practices) and sports coach Djihene Abdellilah called on public authorities and sports bodies:
” She would go to the world championships, she would also be allowed to train in the veil. But, in France, this is a problem. We are in the world of sport: we try to ban veiled women as much as possible. It is stigmatizing, humiliating, discriminatory. I don’t understand why sports bodies don’t rise up against this regulation. Through Sana’s story, I would like the decision-making bodies, the Federations, the Ministry of Sport, to realize that with their completely unjust decision, they have the ability to shatter the dreams, but also the international sports careers of young women, under the pretext that she[s] [sont] veiled[s] and of the Muslim faith. Do you find it right?
Djihene Abdellilah
Sana Ndiaye is unfortunately not the first athlete to be excluded because of her veil. In January, basketball player Salimata Sylla, who has been playing in the French leagues for more than 10 years, told the Parisian his exclusion from a competition in northern France, returning to the humiliation felt and the inconsistency of such a decision when in a year’s time France will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games and that “ several foreign athletes will come to participate with their headgear while, at the same time, we exclude French women who wear itYou”.
Alongside the French Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, another athlete, Kilama Makanga, has launched a petition following his ban from participating in various competitions for similar reasons.
“Why in France do we try so hard to make veiled women who are successful models invisible? »
Djihene Abdellilah wonders about the message sent by these exclusions: “ Why in France do we try so hard to make veiled women, who are successful models, invisible? Whether it’s large companies, sports… [Cela concerne aussi] minority women, as soon as they go against what the media can broadcast about them “. While Sana Ndiaye practices a difficult combat sport, evolves into a very masculine field and is successful, the champion must be “a model of success and by no means a model of exclusion “, insists Djihene Abdellilah.
Contacted, the French Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has not yet responded to requests for to miss.
Cover image: Jonathan Borba
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
