“Historic Olympic Moment: Hijab-Wearing Gold Medalist Sparks Controversy and Defiance in France’s Xenophobia Debate!”
The United Nations Human Rights Office spoke out against the French law’s discriminatory effects against women at the time.
“No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not wear,” the organization’s spokeswoman, Marta Hurtado, said last year.
She reportedly stressed that the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women ruled out discriminatory practices.
Sifan secured gold with an Olympic record time of 2:22:55
Image credits: sifanhassan
“Any state party to the convention, in this case, France, has an obligation to … modify social or cultural patterns which are based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either sex,” Marta said.
“Discriminatory practices against a group can have harmful consequences,” she pointed out.
At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games women’s marathon event on Sunday, the Ethiopian runner Tigst snagged silver just three seconds behind Sifan, while the Kenyan athlete Hellen rounded out the podium with a bronze finish in 2:23:10, The Express reported.
Sifan’s remarkable achievement gained even greater significance given that she also captured bronze in both the 5,000m and 10,000m events in Paris, as per The Express.
Image credits: sifanhassan
The Dutch sportswoman became the first competitor since Czech runner Emil Zatopek in 1952 to gain medals in all these long-distance disciplines within the same edition of the Olympic Games.
“I feel like I am dreaming,” Sifan reportedly said post-race. “At the end, I thought, ‘This is just a 100m sprint. Come on, Sifan. One more. Just feel it, like someone who sprints 200m.’”
