Hijabis to be allowed in tournaments
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This year’s world Tae Kwon Do championship snubbed the recent decision made by the Quebec Tae Kwon Do Federation that the hijab ban was a matter of safety and security.
Several Muslim women were able to fight wearing a head scarf (hijab) despite the recent claim made by the Quebec Tae Kwon Do Federation’s president, Jean Faucher, that the ban was strictly a matter of security.
But a spokesman for the (World Tae Kwon Do Federation Council) WTF said the hijab had never been banned, it was simply not mentioned in the list of approved equipment and the national federation in Canada had made their decision on those grounds.
“It’s not an issue at all here,” he said.
At the World Tae Kwon Do Championships in 2005, women also competed wearing hijabs.
But Faucher disagreed saying: “That’s how they may do it in other countries, but here we apply the rules.”
Faucher said Quebec would continue to strictly enforce the WTF’s competition rule 4.2.2: “Wearing any item on the head other than the head protector shall not be permitted,” until a written confirmation for a change was received.
International rule changes are discussed at the WTF’s annual general assembly in August, Faucher said. But he doubted the rules would be altered, because the hijab issue has been raised before and no changes were made, he said.
He added that the Ontario, Manitoba and Canadian federations all followed the same rule.
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