Refugee athletes are set to take to the stage in Paris as record immigration and the rise of far-right populism affect much of the world, with parties in many countries fighting hard against immigration and asylum claims.
Women make up just over a third of the Refugee Olympic team at the Paris Games, and female representation has steadily declined since the team was formed in 2015.
But the proportion of women in the team is not the only one that has registered a decrease of 38%. The refugee Paralympic team is less than 13% female.
The number of refugees has tripled in the last ten years. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, there were 43.4 million refugees in the world at the end of last year.
About half of refugees, internally displaced persons or stateless persons are women and girls.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) emphasizes that this event will be the first in history to respect gender equality.
However, individual sports cases reveal a different story than the overall reality.
For Michele Donnelly, associate professor of sports management at Brock University, the IOC is “not honoring its commitment to gender equality,” especially since it failed to enforce it on the team it oversees.
“I would say it’s more of a symbol than a real representation of the problems on a global scale,” adds Michelle Donnelly.
Is less than 40% female representation enough?
According to the charity Women’s International, “in addition to the poverty and other challenges that all refugees face, refugee women face additional pressures due to gender discrimination.”
This layer can be “unpaid work at home, whether it’s childcare, caring for elderly parents, cooking, cleaning”, says Rachel Williams, head of policy and business community giving at the charity Women in Sport.
There are 29 athletes in the current Refugee Olympic team, of which only 10 are women.
Manizha Talash, a 21-year-old Afghan who will compete in her first Olympic breakdance competition since fleeing the Taliban in Spain, is one of the inspiring migrant stories making headlines.
“We know how important visibility is, especially for girls in sports, and will be inspired to see girls excel in sports,” added Williams.
If the Women in Sport team prefers to look on the optimistic side and list around 40% of the team as women, this view is not consensual.
“I don’t think it’s enough,” Donnelly said. “The places where the IOC is in full control should act as a model for everyone’s expectations, so the teams should be equal. »
“Everyone’s refugee experience is not the same. Women, sexual minorities and people with disabilities face increased risks and challenges as refugees. All of this ultimately affects who can make the refugee Olympic and Paralympic teams. »
How are refugee groups funded?
According to the International Olympic Committee, most of the team’s athletes are supported by the Scholarship Program for Refugee Athletes, managed by the Olympic Refugee Foundation (ORF) and funded by Olympic Solidarity.
The IOC Executive Board has selected the Refugee Olympic Team for Paris 2024.
To be eligible, athletes must be an elite competitor in their sport and must be refugees in a host country recognized by UNHCR.
“Balanced representation in terms of sport, gender and regions will also be considered,” ORF said.
However, Donnelly believes that transparency and accountability are largely lacking in both.
“We don’t know much about how athletes are selected for refugee teams,” he said.
“It makes us ask ourselves how we ended up in a place where there are not equal numbers of male and female athletes in the refugee teams. »