'You don't tell me to wear a bikini': Egypt's Olympic volleyball duo compete fully clothed in Paris - and condemn hijab ban for French athletes

Egypt's Olympic volleyball duo defiantly competed fully-clothed in the Olympic  games today - before slamming a hijab ban imposed on French athletes.

Images of Egyptian athletes Marwa Abdelhady and Doaa Elghobashy sporting an all back outfit and hijab, playing against bikini-clad Liliana Fernandez Steiner and Paula Soria Gutierrez of Spain have gone viral for their stark contrast in competition gear.

Following Egypt's 2-0 loss to Spain, the pair were seen embracing in their long-sleeve top, leggings, and headscarf while the Spanish duo celebrated their victory in a tight red bikini and matching sun visor.

The bold move comes after France banned their team members from wearing hijabs, with the country's sports minister, Amelie Oudea-Castera, saying the move was made to help respect principles of secularism.

But despite this, Abdelhady and Elghobashy took to the volleyball court in their religious head-covering and later condemned the ban.

'I want to play in my hijab, she wants to play in a bikini - everything is okay, if you want to be naked or wear a hijab. Just respect all different cultures and religions,' Elghobashy told Expressen.

'I don't tell you to wear a hijab and you don't tell me to wear a bikini. No one can tell me how to dress. 

'It's a free country, everyone should be allowed to do what they want'.   

Amnesty International and 10 other groups wrote to the International Olympic Committee in June asking for the ban to be overturned, warning that it causes Muslim athletes to be 'discriminated against'.

'Women and girls in France who wear the hijab have been and are being prevented from playing multiple sports including football, basketball, judo, boxing, volleyball and badminton -- even at youth and amateur levels,' the letter said. 

'The hijab bans in sports have resulted in many Muslim athletes being discriminated against, invisibilised, excluded and humiliated, causing trauma and social isolation -- some have left or are considering leaving the country to seek playing opportunities elsewhere.

The human rights organisation then slammed the Olympic Games host nation after the ban was not lifted.

'Banning French athletes from competing with hijabs in the Olympic and Paralympic Games makes a mockery of claims that Paris 2024 is the first gender-neutral Olympics and exposes the racist gender discrimination that underpins access to sport in France,' said Anna Błus, Amnesty International's researcher in women's rights in Europe. 

Elghobashy believes allowing hijabs, which will be permitted in the athletes' village, offers 'freedom for everyone' and hopes the focus will be shifted from what they are wearing to their performance.

'I love playing in a hijab, not with a bikini,' she said, calling the International Federation of Volleyball's (FIVB) rule change a sign of 'respect'.

'For another girl, you might not like [it] – it's OK for you. It's freedom, I felt comfortable and good.

'The hijab is a part of me. It's not [that way] for everyone.'

It comes after French Olympic sprinter Sounkamba Sylla took to social media days before the 2024  Games began, saying she would not be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony because of her hijab.

'You are selected for the Olympics, organised in your country, but you can't participate in the opening ceremony because you wear a headscarf,' Sylla wrote on her private Instagram, according to The Associated Press.

Up until the 2012 Olympics, female volleyball players were obliged to wear bikinis - with the lower part no more than 7cm from top to bottom at the hip - or a one-piece swimming costume.

But the FIVB swooped in and revealed its aim of opening up the sport to players and shifting the rules to accommodate more athletes.

Bans on wearing a hijab in French sports have been applied at all levels, including amateur and youth levels, even stretching beyond the Olympics, according to Amnesty International.

There is no national law or policy banning hijabs in sports, but individual sports federations have their own regulations prohibiting the religious headscarf.

Football, basketball, and volleyball are just some of the sports banning them.

A ban against wearing the hijab in football was introduced in 2006, in basketball, it began in 2022, and in volleyball, in 2023.

'We have documented over the years -- [for] around 20 years -- measures are being introduced constantly to limit Muslim women's rights,' Blus said of France.

'There's definitely been an increase in these types of measures in different areas of life over the past 20 years,' she added.