The Women and Democracy Association, KADEM, initiated a campaign in response to France’s decision to prohibit athletes from wearing hijab during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games through the #StopFacismFrance campaign on social media.

France, which continues to introduce new measures targeting Muslim/hijab-wearing women every day, has once again come into the spotlight with its latest decision regarding female athletes, this time through a social media campaign. KADEM organized an internationally participated social media campaign to draw attention to France’s oppressive attitude and human rights violations against Muslim women.

For some time, France, which has been rigorously implementing bans extending from educational institutions to public spaces, has faced international backlash for its decision to prohibit athletes wearing hijab from participating in the Olympics. Marta Hurtado, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), criticized France’s recent ban on hijab for female athletes.

KADEM’s social media posts on the issue gained significant attention and support in the public sphere shortly after 7.00 PM yesterday. The campaign, trending with the hashtag #StopFascismFrance within minutes, underscored the community’s sensitivity to such matters.

The campaign, supported by the Minister of Family, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vedat Işıkhan and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Osman Aşkın Bak gained prominence with the participation of many high-profile accounts. KADEM’s social media campaign also made waves on international stage. About 15,000 shares were made regarding KADEM’s campaign. More than 30,000 unique users interacted and the #StopFascismFrance hashtag remained trending for 4.5 hours.

In KADEM’s #StopFascismFrance campaign, social media posts highlighted that “France’s ban on the participation of hijab wearing athletes in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games is the latest in a series of oppressive and exclusionary decisions targeting Muslim women. We invite the international public to oppose France’s antidemocratic practices and stand by women.”

KADEM, with its campaign, invited the entire world to stand against France’s antidemocratic practices and stand by women. Last fall, the organization also organized the International Women and Justice Summit on “Cultural Codes and Women,” drawing attention to the burkini ban in France and the clothing impositions on female athletes through a film.