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Hijab row resurfaces at Tae Kwon Do event
First soccer, then Tae Kwon Do. A team of mainly Muslim girls had to pull out of a Tae Kwon Do tournament on Sunday because members refused to remove their hijabs.
- AP
- Published: 00:00 April 17, 2007
Montreal: First soccer, then Tae Kwon Do. A team of mainly Muslim girls had to pull out of a Tae Kwon Do tournament on Sunday because members refused to remove their hijabs.
Tournament organisers told team officials the girls could not compete because the head scarves posed a safety risk.
It is the second ban of hijabs in Quebec sports in recent months, part of a larger debate in the province about accommodations for cultural and religious minorities.
International referee Stephane Menard said the decision was made at a referees' meeting earlier in the day.
"The equipment that is allowed under the world Tae Kwon Do federation rules doesn't include the hijab," Menard said on Sunday. "We applied the rules to the letter."
In February, an 11-year-old Muslim girl from Ontario participating in a soccer tournament in Quebec was pulled from the field after she refused the referee's request to remove her head scarf. The move was supported by soccer associations, citing security concerns.
The Tae Kwon Do team, made up of girls between eight and 12 years old, is affiliated with a Muslim community centre in Montreal. Five of the team's six players wear a hijab but have been allowed to participate in similar tournaments around Quebec.
The Muslim centre's boys club pulled out of the tournament in an act of solidarity.
"I'm very upset," said Bissan Mansour, one of the players. "We made so many efforts and practiced harder than usual to be here."
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