An Olympic contradiction: when a Muslim woman’s oppression is a white woman’s empowerment

In the past week, we’ve heard a lot about how female athletes dress.

First up there was the Norwegian women’s beach handball team, fined after they chose to wear shorts for a match instead of the sport’s mandated bikini bottoms. On the same day, a Paralympian was told her shorts were “too short and inappropriate,” leading to a furious outcry. Then the action headed to Tokyo, where Germany’s Olympic gymnasts were praised for choosing to wear full body suits in opposition to the tiring sexualisation of the sport. 

The solidarity shown to both teams has been widely publicised – the singer Pink even stepped in to offer to pay Norway’s fines. And yet, still, Muslim women live an entirely different reality.