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Journalism of Courage
Women from Saudi Arabia,Qatar will compete in Olympics for the first time. IOC must encourage it
Sports have emerged as an arena where womens rights in Islamic societies are contested,and for the first time,it looks like women are winning. At the summer Olympics in London later this year,every country sending a contingent is expected to field at least one woman athlete,which would be a first. Even the usual laggards when it comes to gender equality,such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar,will permit women to compete. Saudi Arabias crown prince (and likely eventual king) approved womens participation in London as long as the sport didnt contradict Islamic laws. The first woman to represent the notoriously repressive monarchy at the Olympics will most likely be a teenaged equestrian,Dalma Rushdi Malhas,who previously won a bronze medal at the last Youth Olympics. Baby steps,then but still significant for countries that continue to treat their women like second-class citizens.
Efforts like these must be encouraged by international sports governing bodies,who could do more to enable womens participation from countries where the established order excludes them. FIFA only recently overturned a ban on female football players wearing headscarves on a trial basis a ban that attracted attention when the Iranian womens team was disqualified in a match against Jordan last year. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) could set a precedent in allowing women better access to the sports arena by relaxing dress codes for women from Islamic countries. Within these countries,these moves seem to be driven by a combination of external pressure by agencies such as Human Rights Watch,which recently published a report detailing the struggle of female athletes in Saudi Arabia,and regional upheaval,which has led to a re-evaluation,however minor,of discriminatory practices against women.
Women can expand their access to public spaces via sports,and what better showcase of this than the Olympics?
