Some countries are having big problems with some of their minority populations and need to react. A country has the right to set laws and people who want to live in said country need to follow the laws but the countries also need to make some allowances for other people's traditions. As far as sports go people need to dress in a manner that makes them truly competitive not sen some sort of message.

Of course France has to do something. They have a terrible radical Islamic terrorism problem. It's no coincidence the author of this opinion piece is named Shasta Aziz. Just saying.

Personally I don’t care what these women wear…however to say it’s their choice to want to be handicapped by wearing unnecessary clothing designed to cover their head or body whilst playing competitive sport seems to me to be gifting an unnecessary advantage to their opponents, and clearly not in their own interests. They only think it’s their choice, but in fact that choice has already been made for them by some patriarchal rules, either religious, cultural, or both. They therefore perceive their only choice is to compete wearing the hijab or to not compete at all.

In all circumstances here in the U.K. they may wear these oppressive garments and continue to believe it’s a requirement to obediently do so, that’s their prerogative of course. However, in France which prides itself on being a secular country, there are certain public places where overt religious symbols, especially those which are considered to be there to subjugate women, such as full face coverings, have been banned by law. They’ve decided to take a stance against other religious symbols in public spaces in order to make those spaces neutral for all and I actually agree that they’re right to do so. The religious lobbyists see this as an attack on their rights of course, and some of the most vociferous will actually be women themselves, who can’t grasp the fact that their religion is made by man for men and that women are merely brainwashed into believing that by covering up their bodies they’re pleasing some fictional entity. Not so of course, it is merely a means by which men can exert control over their women whom they regard as property.

I oppose allowing the expression of sectarianism. It's a competition, not a commercial for religion.

Worst case, allow it but require the athlete to pre-qualify wearing the garb. If they qualify, only then let them compete in public with the same handicap.