Muslim Women in SPORTS

Interview with Ibtinaj Muhammad by NPR: Olympic Hopeful Mixes Muslim Faith And Fencing

2012-02-06T21:09:00.001Z

By Michel Martin

Host (Martin): We want to turn our attention now to sports. Ibtihaj Muhammad is currently training about 40 hours a week, hoping to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. Her dedication and skill would cause her to stand out, anyway, but there's another reason she does: her hijab, which she wears while competing. She hopes to become the first American Muslim woman to compete and hopefully win at the Olympic Games wearing a hijab.

And she was nice enough to take a break from her busy schedule to talk with us more about her sport and her faith. Welcome. Thank you so much for joining us.

IBTIHAJ MUHAMMAD: Thank you.

MARTIN: For listeners not familiar with fencing, could you tell us a little bit more about the sport and also about your particular weapon? You compete in the saber, if I have that right.

MUHAMMAD: Yes. A lot of people have seen fencing in movies like "The Parent Trap," or have an idea of it from "Zorro." And it's, I guess, something similar to that. We use weapons, and I'd like to describe it as the physical chess. It's very tactical, and you have to be athletic, and it's really exciting.

MARTIN: I do want to mention that you are ranked number two among U.S. women using that weapon.

MUHAMMAD: Yup.

MARTIN: So that's no small achievement there. I just want to let people know that, you're highly accomplished in your field. How did you get interested in fencing?

MUHAMMAD: I was driving past my local high school - I think I was about 12 - with my mom, and she noticed the fencing team practicing in the high school from the road and, you know, she suggested that I try out when I got to high school. And what drew us to fencing was the long sleeves and long pants that the fencers wore.

As a practicing Muslim woman, I knew that I would not only have to find a sport that accommodated my religious beliefs, but also where I could be fully covered and not have to change the uniform.

MARTIN: And had you played any sports before?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah, I have. I think back then I ran track. I played softball and a little bit of tennis.

MARTIN: But you were younger than 12, so you were not yet at the age where you would be expected to begin covering. Is that it?

MUHAMMAD: No, no, no, no. But when I got to high school, I played four years of volleyball. I played softball. And, you know, with volleyball, you wear - my teammates wore spandex and, like, a tank top. That was our team uniform. And I wore a t-shirt underneath the tank top and I swore sweatpants. So fencing was a bit different in that I didn't have to alter the uniform at all, and I really felt a part of the team.

MARTIN: What is it that you like about it? Obviously, it took to you and you've taken to it. What do you think you - what do you like about it, and why do you think you're good at it?

MUHAMMAD: You know, it's tough. I enjoy being able to critique myself when I'm finished fencing, whether I win or lose. I like that I can, you know, pick apart that particular bout. I know how I scored touches, how I lost touches or points. You know, it's really easy to, you know, lose and be able to fix your mistakes, whereas on a team, you know, I guess whether you win or lose can be in the hands of someone else, and I've never felt comfortable with that.

MARTIN: If you're just joining us, this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm speaking with Ibtihaj Muhammad. She is a fencer. She has her sights set on the 2012 London Olympics. She's currently ranked number two among U.S. women using her weapon, the saber. And she is also a Muslim American, and she plans to compete wearing her hijab. She hopes to be the first Muslim American woman to compete at an Olympic games, in fact, wearing hijab.

I notice you said you were looking for a sport where you didn't have to modify the uniform, where hopefully you actually just fit in more and didn't feel kind of having to make these accommodations. But you have had to make accommodations to compete.

For example, I understand that you participated in a training camp in Colorado Springs which was during Ramadan, where the observant fast from sunup to sundown. How did you accommodate the rigorous training schedule - especially at altitude, right - while fasting? And also refraining from taking water. How did you do it?

MUHAMMAD: You know, that was, honestly, I think, one of the toughest Ramadans that I've had in my experience while fasting, not only, you know, abstaining from eating or drinking, but also, as you said, the altitude. Trying to be an athlete and train at a really high altitude is tough. You dehydrate a lot faster. You're susceptible to injury when you're dehydrated. So we were training twice a day, and I found that meeting with the trainers at the Olympic training center, they were really, really helpful.

They put me on a strict diet, like I didn't have a lot of salt intake. I had to wake up periodically in the night to consume Gatorade and water to make sure that I didn't suffer from dehydration. And the tough thing about it is, you know, when you're not drinking and you're training at this level, you do suffer from dehydration, and I did have a few muscle strains and pulls during that time. But, you know, fasting is a part of my life. Being Muslim is a part of my life, and, you know, fencing, I work into it, but I wouldn't fence if it hindered, you know, me practicing my religion in any way.

MARTIN: But won't the Olympic Games in 2012 coincide with Ramadan?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah, they will.

MARTIN: Well, how do you anticipate adjusting? I guess you'll have to do the same thing, right? Hydrate at night and - I don't know. What are you going to do?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah. I mean, honestly, if I'm blessed to make the team, then that's like the furthest thing from my mind, you know, having to fast while competing. I've done it before and, you know, I feel as though I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. It's not something that I worry about.

MARTIN: You know, people often - these days, the narrative around being Muslim American is, you know, you get sort of these sort of polar opposite perspectives. On the one hand, you know, there was a series on - a reality series - it's just actually concluding this weekend - called "All-American Muslim." The idea, obviously, is to show that, you know, Muslims are Americans like everybody else and they do the same stuff and, you know, they want to play sports and, you know, they have their family squabbles and, you know, men do the dishes and, you know...

MUHAMMAD: Right.

MARTIN: ...excuse me, it's not a big deal. And then there's this other thing, where there's this other sort of narrative where people are - there's a constant tension, and are people treating you differently because of your hijab or your religious practices. And then there's the other story of: Can we really trust these people? Are they really our fellow, you know, patriots? Are they really loyal to the country and so forth?

And I'm just - you know, we're talking about your sport and, really, if we weren't talking about the accommodations of Ramadan and the uniform, we could really be talking to, sort of, any other athlete. I guess what I'm wondering is, in your world, does the fact of your being a Muslim American matter a very great deal, except for the fact that it is important to you in your own individual way and as a part of who you are? Does that make sense? Do you know what I'm asking?

MUHAMMAD: It does. You know, being a Muslim American is not easy at all. It's very difficult. And the way I practice Islam speaks for itself and, you know, people can either accept me or they can choose not to. And I feel the same way about the show. I don't think that "All-American Muslim" in any way represents who I am. I like to think that I'm a very conservative Muslim, and I think that a lot of the Muslims on that show, I would say, are extremely liberal.

But when you do have people who have this close-minded view of what Islam is, it's easy to group us all into one box or one category.

MARTIN: Do you hope, though, that in part, your participation in the Olympics will - if you are lucky enough to make the team - will have some positive benefit in how people view Muslims and Islam? Or would you really prefer that they not think about your religion or your religious identity when you're competing?

MUHAMMAD: I mean, the reality is that I am different. I mean, I'm African-American and I do wear the hijab. So I know that I look completely different from my teammates, and I don't expect everyone to ignore that fact. I mean, even with them fencing, yes, there are very, very few Muslims. I'm the only Muslim on the team, but there are even fewer, I'd say, minorities.

To some way, you know, encourage or inspire minorities - religious minorities in the country to see themselves in this space, I know that I have accomplished a lot, but I think that there's definitely more ground to cover. I mean, fencing has done so much for me. You know, it helped me get into a really great university, and I wouldn't be where I am in my life without fencing, without sports. And it's helped me focus in so many ways.

So if my message reaches anyone, I hope that it reaches more kids than anything. I want them to be comfortable in their own skin and be comfortable with practicing their religion, and not only in the United States, but everywhere.

MARTIN: Ibtihaj Muhammad is a fencer. She currently ranks number two among U.S. women using her particular weapon, the saber. She is training to compete in the 2012 Olympics, which will be held in London. And she was kind enough to join us today from our studios in New York.

Ibtihaj, thank you so much for speaking with us, and good luck to you in everything. Keep us posted.

MUHAMMAD: Michel, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

MARTIN: Please join us tomorrow for our regular Faith Matters conversation. We'll talk about the observance of Epiphany, or Three Kings Day.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/05/144737954/olympic-hopeful-mixes-muslim-faith-and-fencing

Female Asian in Football Award 2012 – Rimla Akhtar

2012-02-04T23:41:00.000Z

2012, the year of the Olympics in London and sport fever has certainly gripped North West London where the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation was nominated for the Football Foundation of the Year at the first ever Asian Football Awards held at Wembley stadium.

The Asian Football Awards ceremony was established with the help of Kick It Out and the Football Association and took place on Tuesday 24^th January.

Rimla Akhtar was part of the futsal team when the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation was set up. It aims to raise awareness of the issues facing Muslim women in sport as well as directly producing and implementing the solutions.

Now the current Chair, Rimla has also represented the MWSF at international futsal competitions. She has worked in the FA and footballing community through consultancy and holds a number of positions including on the National Race Equality Advisory Group, the Asian and Muslim Women and Girls Working Group and the Referees Diversity Action Group. This has been critical to the development of women’s sport for the BME community.

Her loyalty, passion and dedication to her work has been rewarded yet again as Rimla won and was presented with the Asian Woman in Football Award 2012.

Rimla Akhtar, said: "Over the past eleven years the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation (MWSF) has worked to increase the accessibility of sports facilities and opportunities to play and compete for those who are severely under-represented across all aspects of sport. We have always used sport as a powerful means of uniting people and overcoming prejudices, particularly those against minority communities."

She goes on to say: “I am so pleased that the Foundation was shortlisted for a great award and I’m clearly humbled at my winning an award. We have made so much difference to the community and the sporting world – I hope that everyone involved is proud of this moment. It’ll certainly spur us on to do even greater work.”

The MWSF will also be back at Wembley Stadium in April 2012 celebrating the contribution of individuals and organisations to the unique area of minority ethnic sports with the inaugural Ambassador Awards. www.awards.mwsf.org.uk

For more information on the Asian Football Awards go to http://www.asianfootballawards.co.uk

For more information on Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation go to www.mwsf.org.uk and for press/pr enquiries call: Allison Cooper /0208 427 0873/ 07935 057 618

Tabb basketball player Yasmeen Amer wears her faith with pride on court

2012-02-04T23:33:00.000Z

Tabb's Yasmeen Amer (Kaitlin McKeown, Daily Press / February 2, 2012)

By Marty O'Brien, mobrien@dailypress.com | 757-247-4963

YORK ——

There were times after Yasmeen Amer began wearing a hijab that she felt conflicted and even self-conscious. She wondered how her Tabb High classmates would react to the scarf and attire traditionally worn by practicing Muslim women as a form of modesty.

And, as a typical teenager, she was anxious for her peers to admire her hair and fashion sense. As her faith and self-assurance has grown, Yasmeen has packed those concerns away with her baby dolls.

"At first I didn't want to do it, but it grew on me," said Yasmeen, a Tabb sophomore, of wearing a hijab. "I cared about what my friends would think and whether I'd lose my friends.

"Then I came to realize, 'You know what? They're not my friends if they don't accept me as who I am.' "

Yasmeen is very much accepted by her teammates on the Tabb High junior varsity girls basketball team. For one thing, she is an excellent defender although she's playing basketball for the first time.

What they love most about her is her bubbly personality and boundless enthusiasm. The preconception some Americans have that Muslim women are shy because of their covering does not come close to fitting Yasmeen.

"Yasmeen has a very, very positive attitude," Tabb JV girls coach Megan Stangroom said. "One game she wasn't here, and it was so quiet without her high energy, clapping and positivity around.

"I love to put her out there when we need to get some sort of tempo on defense. Then all the sudden we're playing with more intensity, because when one person steps up, everybody wants to."

Said Laura Barber, a Tabb guard, "She's a very energetic girl. She's always the one pumping us up before and after games."

Yasmeen went out for the JV basketball team this season because Barber and Tabb varsity player Brooke Mahan convinced her she could be good at it. Yameen's attitude was typically sunny.

"I thought, 'Why not? What's going to stop me?' " she said.

Positive attitude not withstanding, basketball is not easy to master when you begin nearing your 16th birthday. So Yasmeen immediately gravitated toward the part of the game you can become good at quickly with hustle and enthusiasm: defense. She is working hard to become a better shooter, passer and dribbler.

"I'll look at a move a girl just did and tell myself, 'I'm going home and practice that so I can be just as good as she is,' " Yasmeen said. "I've always picked up sports pretty quickly for some reason.

"Soccer is my main sport, so I'm a fast runner."

Yasmeen started for Tabb last week in a win over Bruton. Her athleticism was apparent in the several steals and rebounds she had, although she did not score.

She stood out in another way: In addition to covering her hair, Yasmeen wore a long-sleeved white shirt under her jersey and black leggings beneath her shorts, because Muslim females who wear hijab must also cover their skin. Because she wears yoga pants under her shorts in practice, her teammates have nicknamed her "Yasercize."

Yasmeen, the consummate teammate, accepts the moniker with a smile.

"I love to cheer my team on and I love every single person on it," she said. "They're like my inspiration and I want to do everything I can to encourage them."

Some, she senses, are not so accepting of her attire or the Muslim faith it represents. She has learned not to take the occasional double-takes to heart.

"Honestly, you always get those looks, whispers and stares," she said. "You just take it, brush it off and say, 'That's just who I am.'

"As I became stronger in my religion and matured, it didn't matter what people thought of me. It's between me and God.

"My faith guides me and helps me with decisions I need to make. If I question something, I go and repent to God and ask him for advice, and he's always there."

Yasmeen, whose parents emigrated to the United States from Egypt in the early 1970s, prays five times a day. She leans on prayer most when she's stressed out about school.

She's doing very well academically, with a 4.1 grade point average and ambitions of becoming an anesthesiologist. She balances religious devotion and studying with basketball, soccer and lots of time for her friends.

Yasmeen fits in perfectly with her teammates and friends, even if her attire sets her apart. So her days of feeling self-conscious about wearing a hijab appear to be permanently behind her.

"I can do whatever I want, as a normal American teenager does, but with my scarf," Yasmeen said. "I love to hang out with my friends, play sports and go to movies.

"It doesn't hold me back from anything."
Source: http://www.dailypress.com/sports/highschool/dp-spt-tabbjvgirl-0205-20120204,0,7590622.story

Sign The Petition: Allow girls & women to play Football wearing the proper Headscarfs - Hijab

2012-02-03T19:11:00.000Z

To Sign: http://www.change.org/petitions/allow-girls-women-to-play-football-wearing-headscarfs?utm_medium=email&utm_source=action_alert

During youth Olympics Football Tournament in Singapore 2010, FIFA & the executive committee issued that players couldn’t not wear a headscarf - Hijab, However the players may wear a cap that covers the players heads to the hairline, but does not extend below the ears to cover the neck
Girls and Women from many countries were affected by the following decision and were not allowed to play, which was a painful moment to the players from Jordan, Palestine ,Bahrain and Iran during the Olympics Qualification Rounds 2011.
This petition was done to show the community support to women wearing Headscarfs – Hijab playing football. We need everyones support in this petition to be sent to FIFA and to hope FIFA will reconsider this decision and allow us to play with the Headscarf

خلال دورة الالعاب الاولمبية للشابات 2010 في سنغافورة،أصدرت اللجنة التنفيذية و الفيفا قرار بمنع اللاعبات من ارتداءالحجاب ، و يجوز للاعبات ارتداء قبعة تغطي رأس اللاعبة ، ولكن لا تمتد أسفل الأذنين لتغطية الرقبة.
والفيفا ستصدر قرارا نهائيا مارس 2012 في هذه المسألة، ونحن بهذه العريضة نتمنى جمع اكبر عدد من الاصوات لنبين دعم المجتمع لسمح ارتداء الحجاب في جميع مباريات كرة القدم المحلية والدولية

Petitioning:

International Football Association Board

Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)

Irish Football Association

The Football Association of Wales

Scottish Football Association

Special Thanks to Dr Martha Saavedra

Qatari women hope to make history in 2012

2012-02-02T20:46:00.000Z

DOHA, Qatar - Three weeks before the Arab Games in Doha,Qatari sports officials called Nada Mohammed Wafa to tell her she would be competing in the Middle East's biggest sportingevent.

Surprised - and a bit scared - the 17-year-old swimmer replied: "Oh wow! Sure!"

Wafa, who had only competed in school-level events until then,trained hard to make up for the short time she had beforemaking history by becoming the first woman on Qatar's nationalswim team.

"It's a good feeling, but it's also very lonely," Wafa said. "It's justme, myself and I."

Wafa may be Qatar's lone female swimmer, but she is part of agroup of emerging athletes in the conservative Muslim countrythat hopes to send women to the Olympics for the first time inLondon next year.

And if Wafa's phone rings in five months or somebody confirmsher name is on the list, she would be delighted to go andcompete.

"I'd be over the moon," Wafa said.

Along with Saudi Arabia and Brunei, Qatar has never sent femaleathletes to the Olympics. Last year, the International OlympicCommittee urged the three countries to end the practice ofsending all-male teams to the Games, hoping that naming andshaming would do more for female athletes than banning theirnations from the Olympics.

While Saudi Arabia's plans to send women to the London Games remain wrapped in secrecy,Qatar is feverishly working to escape the stigma that comes with failing to include women.

Over the past decade, the tiny but rich Gulf country has been targeting sports as a vehicle toshowcase its global aspirations. Last year, it became the first Arab country to win the right tohost the World Cup in 2022. And Qatar's bid for the 2020 Olympics adds the pressure toinclude women on the teams in London.

Qatar Olympic Committee President Sheik Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said femaleathletes have been competing in international tournaments for the past three years, includinglast year's Youth Olympics in Singapore.

The only reason women were not included for the 2008 Beijing Games is because they didn'tqualify in any sport, Sheik Saoud said. He added that Qatar is talking to the IOC about sendingfemale athletes to the Games next year on wild-card invitations.

"That's the thing with the Olympics. They can't go if they don't qualify," Sheik Saoud said. "It'snot about us being unwilling to send women to the tournament. But it takes time to prepareathletes to compete on the international level."

It also takes time to change mindsets in a deeply conservative society. Qatar follows theWahhabi branch of Islam, a strict version that predominates in Saudi Arabia.

There are no written laws in Qatar - or Saudi Arabia - that ban and restrict women fromparticipating in sports. Rather, the stigma of female athletes is rooted in conservative traditionsand religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make themvulnerable to sins.

Unlike in Saudi Arabia, where women are still banned from driving, much has changed in Qatarsince the country began an ambitious process of opening up to the world, largely throughhosting high-profile sporting events in tennis, soccer, and track and field.

But getting women to compete in Qatar is quite a different thing than sending then to competeabroad.

"It's unusual in this culture," said Hana al-Badr, a 20-year-old handball player who has seen thechange since she joined Qatar's first female handball team four years ago. "My teachers andmy friends in school use to look at me and say, 'You are a girl and you are traveling to playoutside? How can your family let you?' But now it's become normal."

Wafa, the swimmer, didn't win any medals at the Arab Games but succeeded in improving hertimes.

She beat her best in the 50m breast stroke by 3 seconds and missed the finals by a second.She also improved her time in the 50m freestyle by a second, beat her personal best in the100m breast stroke by 15 seconds and was happy with her time of 1 min, 10 secs in the 100freestyle.

"It was an amazing experience," Wafa said. "I had so little time to train, but I finished secondsaway from champions. I am so happy with my results."

Qatar has invested heavily in women's sports over the past decade, introducing specialprograms for girls in school and organizing training camps at home and abroad for femaleathletes with talent and ambition to compete on the international level.

In the past three years, al-Badr and her teammates played in three international tournaments,including last year's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, where 90 Qatari women competed in ahalf-dozen disciplines.

Qatar also started a six-team women's soccer league last year and hosted a Gulf basketballtournament. The shining moment for Qatar's female athletes came at last year's inauguralYouth Olympic Games in Singapore, where two qualified to compete.

"It's a big challenge for us," said Lolwah al-Marri, the general secretary of Qatar's Olympiccommittee who is charged with developing sports for women. "When we started, families wereconcerned for the girls' safety and were afraid people would start talking badly about their daughters."

The focus 10 years ago was on building women's team sports, but by December 2011, whenDoha was hosting the Arab Games, 40 percent of the Qatari delegation was women, competingin volleyball and basketball and eight individual sports, including gymnastics and swimming.

"The dress code is a big problem in these sports," al-Marri said.

Associated Press

Source:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-01/03/content_14371717.htm

Iranian table tennis players qualify for Olympics

2012-02-02T20:31:00.001Z

TEHRAN – Two Iranian table tennis players Noshad Alamian and Neda Shahsavari qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games on Wednesday.

Neda Shahsavari defeated Yelena Shagarova from Kazakhstan 4-1 at the Middle Asia Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tehran, Iran.

Shahsavari is the first Iranian woman table tennis player who will represent her country in Olympic.

“I am so happy, not because of who I am the first Iranian woman would participate in Olympic, but because for Iranian women table tennis players. I had lost to my rival at the Dahe-ye Fajr and I got revenge on her,” Shahsavari said.

Noshad Alamian also booked a berth in the upcoming Olympic after defeating his countryman Mohammad-Reza Akhlaghpasand 4-2.

Saudi Women Get to Be Fans on the Stands With New Soccer Stadium

2012-02-02T20:29:00.000Z

Written by James M. Dorsey

Saudi Arabia is building its first stadium especially designed to allow women who are currently barred from attending soccer matches because of the kingdom’s strict public gender segregation to watch games.

The stadium in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah is scheduled to be completed in 2014 and will have private cabins and balconies to accommodate female spectators, according to Al Sharq, a state-owned newspaper.

“Sources close the stadium said more than 15 percent of the facility will be allocated for families when the facility is fully completed in 2014. Besides families, female journalists and photographers will also be admitted into the stadium and will be allocated exclusive places away from male journalists so they can cover local and international events,” Al Sharq said.

Saudi puritan interpretation of Islam prohibits unrelated men and women from mingling in public. Saudi Arabia refers to public areas for women or families as family areas in which men unaccompanied by a female relative are barred from entry. Similarly, women are denied access to areas where unaccompanied men congregate.

The building of the stadium comes two months after Saudi Arabia in a bid to avoid being barred from the 2012 London Olympics agreed to send a token female equestrian to the tournament to represent a country that effectively discourages women’s sports.

The decision followed a warning last year by Anita DeFrantz, the chair of the International Olympic Committee’s Women and Sports Commission, that Saudi Arabia alongside Qatar and Brunei could be barred if they did not send for the first time at least one female athlete to the London Olympics.

An earlier agreement by Qatar, the only other country whose indigenous population are largely Wahhabis, adherents of the puritan interpretation of Islam predominant in Saudi Arabia, to field a women’s team in London increased the pressure on the kingdom to follow suit.

Saudi Arabia’s most likely female athlete is 18-year old equestrienne Dalma Rushdi Malhas who won a bronze medal in the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics. At the time, Ms. Malhas was not officially delegated to compete in Singapore on behalf of the kingdom.

Despite official discouragement women have increasingly been pushing the envelope at times with the support of more liberal members of the ruling Al Saud family, The kingdom’s toothless Shura or Advisory Council has issued regulations for women’s sports clubs, but conservative religious forces often have the final say.

Nonetheless the mandate granted to a Spanish consultancy last year to develop the kingdom’s first national sports plan is exclusively for men’s sports.

The pushing of the envelope comes as women are proving to be the most visible in challenging the kingdom’s gender apartheid against the backdrop of simmering discontent. Manal al-Sharif was detained in May for nine days after she videotaped herself flouting the rules by getting behind a steering wheel and driving. She was released only after signing a statement promising a that she would stop agitating for women’s rights.

Discrepancy about women’s sports is reinforced by the fact that physical education classes are banned in state-run Saudi girl’s schools Women’s games and marathons are often cancelled when more conservative members of the clergy gets wind of them.

The issue of women’s sport has at time sparked sharp debate with clerics condemning it as corrupting and satanic and charging that it spreads decadence. Clerics warned that running and jumping can damage a woman’s hymen and ruin her chances of getting married. In defiance, women have quietly been establishing soccer and other sports teams using extensions of hospitals and health clubs as their base.

For his part, Saudi King Abdullah has made moves to enhance women’s rights. Last September, women were granted the right to vote, stand for election in local elections and join the advisory Shura council.

http://mideastposts.com/2012/01/30/saudi-women-get-to-be-fans-on-the-stands-with-new-soccer-stadium/

Afghanistan female boxers fighting their way to Olympics

2012-02-02T20:26:00.000Z

For the first time in Afghanistan, around 20 women have been boxing in Kabul's Ghazi stadium, aiming to compete at London 2012. Report by Chloe Culpan.

Doha 2020: 1st Women and sport conference discusses their role in the Middle East

2012-02-02T20:23:00.002Z

LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications

LAUSANNE: The Olympic bid city of Doha hosted January 22-24 at the Museum of Islamic Art the inaugural conference on the role of women in sport in the Middle East and the Arab countries.

Under the theme ‘Women and Sport: From Past to Future’ there were participants and speakers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Syria, UAE and Europe to exchange information on the challenges of women from an Arab countries perspective.

The event was held under the patronage of Sheikha Jawaher Bint Hamad Bin Suhaim Al-Thani, the Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum (QOSM) and the Qatar Women’s Sport Committee (QWSC).

Noora Al Mannai, CEO Doha 2020, herself a woman in a top position in a predominantly men’s world said, “I am looking forward to attending this important conference and learning from some of the leading authorities on women in sport in the Middle East.

“Getting more girls and women to participate in sport in the region is important and with innovative thinking, new investment and a commitment to embrace change, real progress can be achieved.

“This is one of the main ambitions of our 2020 bid.

“If Doha was to be given the honour of becoming the Host City for the Games in 2020, this would represent a major boost to the development of women’s sport in the Middle East. It would be a real legacy for the region.

“This conference will allow many insights and ideas to be shared and discussed and will help to push the agenda of women’s sport forward, not just in Qatar but across the Arab world and beyond.”

Speakers and panellists at ‘Women and Sport: From Past to Future’ include:

Nour El Houda, Former Secretary General of Syrian National Olympic Committee

Dr Yousra Al Sinani, Assistant Professor in Physical Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman

Lolwa Al Marri, Secretary General at Qatar Women's Sport Committee

Shk Hayat Abdulazizi Al Khalifa, Bahrain Olympic Committee Member

Shk Naeema Alahmad Alsabah, Chairperson of GCC Organizing Committee of Women's Sports

Mrs Noora Khalifa Alswaidi, Director of UAE Women’s Union

The conference was also streamed live on Facebook on the Museum of Islamic Art’s page.

http://www.sportsfeatures.com/olympicsnews/story/49297/doha-2020-1st-women-and-sport-conference-discusses-their-role-in-the-middle-east

Source:

Saudis to let woman compete in Olympics

2012-02-02T20:10:00.000Z

By ARIEH O’SULLIVAN / THE MEDIA LINE

Saudi Arabia has agreed to let one female athlete join their all-male delegation to the 2012 Olympics in a bid to block threats to bar them from the games if they didn't let women participate. The move came after a warning last year by Anita DeFrantz , who heads the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Women and Sports Commission, that any country that didn't allow female athletes to compete would be barred from the global competition.

With 35 weeks to go before the games begin in London, the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee has announced that woman can join the team, but with the caveat that they be living abroad. Saudi Arabia has never sent a woman to the Olympics and the kingdom forbids women from participating in sports in state-run schools. There is also no federation that organizes women’s sports.

“[If] some of the female athletes who are living in Europe qualify to the Olympics through international federations or IOC, then we will step in to support them,” an official from the SAOC told The Media Line. Besides Saudi Arabia, DeFrantz also targeted Qatar and Brunei since those three countries out of 205 were the only ones who have never been sent any women to the games since female competitors made their debut in 1900. In July, Qatar caved in and said it hoped to be sending four female athletes to the shooting and fencing competitions in London. Brunei, a tiny Southeast Asia nation, only participated in the 1988 Olympics and failed to register any athletes in 1992 or 2008. When it did manage to qualify, it only sent male athletes. Some 42% of the athletes in Beijing’s 2008 Olympics were female. In the Middle East, women have only marginally been involved in sports, largely due to social, traditional and religious issues. Islamic countries have only in the past decades started to include small numbers of women in their Olympic teams: Iran and Pakistan in 1996, Bahrain in 2000, Afghanistan and Kuwait since 2004, and the United Arab Emirates and Oman since 2008. With the changes sweeping the Middle East, women’s rights appear to be the most to change as leftist, pro-democracy groups confront Islamists who seek a more traditionally conservative role for women. Saudi Arabia, which follows a male-dominated puritan form of Islam that bars women from driving or travelling aboard alone follows strict gender segregation, is the last to buckle under to IOC demands. Since it is seeking athletes who live abroad, Saudi Arabia's most likely Olympic female athlete is reportedly Dalma Rushdi Malhas, an 18-year-old equestrienne who won a bronze medal in the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics. At that time, Malhas did not officially represent the kingdom. “I didn’t know whether I was allowed but when I got invited of course I didn’t think twice and went at my own expense. I didn’t care much about me being there as a representative of Saudi Arabia, because anyone could probably do that. But getting a medal was the key, and that’s not easy for anyone, and I wanted that — and only that gives recognition to my country,” she told the Arab News.Equestrian competitions are also less likely to cause uproar from conservatives in the kingdom since, contrary to diving or water polo, where swimsuits could raise problems, horseback riders are fully clothed, albeit in trousers, and expose only their hands and faces. “Fielding a female equestrian at the London Olympics may take Saudi Arabia off the IOC's hook, but changes little on the ground in the kingdom itself. That remains an uphill battle particularly with an ageing and ailing top leadership that this year has significantly increased the religious establishment's funding as part of its bid to shield Saudi Arabia from the wave of anti-government protests,” wrote James Dorsey, who blogs about Middle East sports. Ali Al-Ahmed, a Saudi dissident and director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, launched a campaign called “No women. No Play,” and called on the IOC to keep to its standards and bar any country that doesn’t field women athletes.“While the hypothetical example of participating countries barring black athletes from the Olympic Games would have rightly caused international outrage, the committee continues to allow the participation of countries that do not allow women on their Olympic teams,” he wrote on his website. Dorsey, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said there is a push by women to engage in sports in the kingdom, but conservative forces often cancel them when the clergy gets wind of them for being “satanic” and spreading decadence. “Clerics warned that running and jumping can damage a woman's hymen and ruin her chances of getting married. In defiance, women have quietly been establishing soccer and other sports teams using extensions of hospitals and health clubs as their base,” Dorsey wrote.
Source: http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=247641

Saudi mulls allowing women into football stadium

2012-01-30T14:53:00.002Z

Saudi mulls allowing women into football stadium
By Staff
Published Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saudi Arabia could for the first time lift a ban on women and allow them to watch football matches along with men inside stadiums in the conservative Gulf kingdom, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Saudi football federation has submitted a proposal to the competent authorities to admit women into packed stadiums during football matches and such a move could be enforced next year, theArabic language daily Shams said, citing unnamed sources in the federation.

Women could be allowed into the major stadiums in such big cities as Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as a first step to fully lift the ban on women.

“The authorities are studying ways to implement such a move to ensure there will be no harassment of women inside stadiums…they are also considering designating special entrances for women at stadiums as well as places which are reserved only for women and families away from men,” the paper said.

“The sources said the new policy could be enforced in the next football season and that it is intended to cope with developments in global football clubs…they noted that the new policy follows reports that Saudi Arabia has been excluded from hosting international sport events, including the world club cup because women are not allowed to watch matches inside stadiums.”

Saudi Arabia to allow women into sports stadiums By Staff Published Sunday, January 29, 2012 Women in Saudi Arabia will have the chance to watch foot

2012-01-30T14:51:00.001Z

Saudi Arabia to allow women into sports stadiums
By Staff
Published Sunday, January 29, 2012

Women in Saudi Arabia will have the chance to watch football matches an other sport events directly for the first time in the conservative Moslem Gulf Kingdom when a decision allowing them in is enforced within two years.

Officials in charge of the King Abdullah Sports City in the western Red Sea town of Jeddah said they had received instructions to equip the stadium so it will be prepared to receive families in 2014.

“Sources close the stadium said more than 15 per cent of the facility will be allocated for families when the facility is fully completed in 2014,” the Saudi Arabic language daily Sharq said on Saturday.

“Besides families, female journalists and photographers will also be admitted into the stadium and will be allocated exclusive places away from male journalists so they can cover local and international events.”

Sharq said the King Abdullah Sports City includes a stadium with a capacity of 60,000 people, besides closed stadiums and massive sports halls that can accommodate more than 10,000 people at the same time.

A decision to let women into sports stadiums follow a proposal submitted by the Saudi Football Federation last year to the competent authorities to give females access to packed stadiums during football matches and other events.

Officials said last year that women could be allowed into the major sport stadiums in such big cities as Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam as a first step to fully lift the ban on female audience.

Sudan’s Islamic Fiqh Council bans formation of womens soccer team

2012-01-26T21:03:00.001Z

January 23, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Islamic Fiqh Council in Sudan issued a fatwa (religious order) saying that it is forbidden for the country to create a womens soccer team, deeming it an immoral act.

Yoanis Linares Reyes of Cuba’s multi-coloured hair flies during the second half of their CONCACAF Women’s Olympic qualifying soccer match against Haiti in Vancouver, British Columbia January 23, 2012 (Reuters)
The religious authority said that any request made by FIFA in this regard is not an excuse to bypass Sharia’a law or grant any exception.

This ruling was in response to an opinion asked for by Al-Sheik Dafalla Hassab al-Rasool who is a member of the legislative and justice committee in the parliament. He said that the national assembly will soon summon the relevant authority for a hearing on the matter.

The Islamic Fiqh Council said in its decision that it had previously made a similar fatwa, in 2006, by which it banned the establishment of a soccer league for women.

It added that for Sudanese females to go play soccer in Africa, Asia and Europe is a breach of Sudanese ethics and values.

Last November Sudan participated in a seminar that took place in South Africa which discussed women soccer in Africa and challenges faced.

Sudan was represented by Laila Khalid who is a member of the country’s soccer association. At the time she stated that she hopes the seminar reflects positively on female soccer in Sudan.
Source: http://www.sudantribune.com/Sudan-s-Islamic-Fiqh-Council-bans,41389
Photo: Yoanis Linares Reyes of Cuba’s multi-coloured hair flies during the second half of their CONCACAF Women’s Olympic qualifying soccer match against Haiti in Vancouver, British Columbia January 23, 2012 (Reuters)

Portrait: Widaad Gukhool

2012-01-26T17:28:00.000Z

Original French (google translation to English will be followed):

Du haut de ses 17 ans, Widaad Gukhool a d’ores et déjà marqué le tennis de table mauricien. Les éloges ne manquent pas pour cette pongiste qui a tapé dans sa première balle à l’age de 8 ans.

Dans le giron, on la défi nit comme une pongiste unique en son genre. Entre ses entraînements, ses études, sa vie religieuse, Widaad Gukhool montre et démontre, depuis ses débuts, qu’elle est prête à faire des sacrifices afin d’atteindre ses objectifs. Preuve en est, les derniers Jeux des îles de l’océan Indien où elle accrochera deux médailles d’or (par équipe et double mixte) en pleine période de ramadan. Widaad Gukhool a toutes les qualités d’une sportive hors du commun.

Et pourtant, le tennis de table n’était pas son premier choix à ses débuts. «Quand elle avait 7 ans, son frère Irfaan pratiquait le karaté et elle avait envie de s’adonner à une activité donc elle aussi s’y est mise», raconte son père Ragck Gukhool. «Ce sport lui plaisait, mais elle n’était pas compatible avec cette discipline, donc, elle a pratiqué d’autres sports comme la natation». Mais elle ne trouvait toujours pas chaussure à son pied. C’est là que le tennis de table est entré dans sa vie, une discipline qui allait tout changer. Détectée en 2004 à Mesnil par Rajessen Descann, elle intégrera en avril 2004 l’école du Mauritius Sports Council et presqu’un an plus tard, remporta son premier titre de championne dans les catégories benjamines et minimes. «On avait constaté à l’époque qu’elle avait un vrai potentiel. Elle était très intelligente tactiquement et savait gérer les moments difficiles, chose que beaucoup de joueurs ne pouvaient pas faire», relate l’entraîneur national, Rajessen Descann.

Comme tout sportif mauricien, le premier objectif d’une carrière demeure les Jeux des îles. Au vu de son talent et de tous ses titres, Widaad Gukhool atteindra celui-ci en 2007 à l’âge de 13 ans. A l’époque, elle était la 6e joueuse au classement national et prouvera que sa sélection en équipe nationale est justifiée.

Une pongiste studieuse

En effet, ses 13 ans ne lui ont pas empêché d’aller chercher la médaille de bronze en double mixte aux côtés de Rajessen Descann qui était joueur à l’époque. «Le contexte n’était pas facile pour elle mais elle a su hausser son niveau pour chercher cette médaille», observe l’entraîneur national qui confie que, dans l’histoire du tennis de table «jamais personne n’a fait ce qu’elle a fait à son age. La carrière de Widaad et son style de jeu ne peuvent être comparés à celle d’un ancien pongiste».

Malgré sa grande implication dans son sport, elle garde en tête que les études joueront un grand rôle pour son avenir.

Etudiante au collège privé de Doha Academy, elle décroche 8 unités au School Certificate, résultat qui a étonné son père. «Je ne m’attendais pas à ce qu’elle fasse aussi bien.

Pour moi, même si elle avait ramené 20 unités, cela ne m’aurait pas posé de problèmes car je connaissais tous les sacrifices qu’elle a faits pour son sport, les heures d’entraînement, les allers retours entre la maison, l’école, les leçons particulières. Je suis fier d’elle, car elle s’implique aussi énormément dans sa religion », explique son père.

Sur la saison 2011, Widaad Gukhool n’a plus rien à prouver. Elle avait lancé sa saison avec une médaille de bronze par équipe aux Championnats d’Afrique Junior 2011, assurant la victoire sur les deux matches qu’elle devait disputer. Elle ramena par la suite son énième titre de championne de Maurice, avec zéro défaite au compteur.

Pour peau finer sa préparation en vue des JIOI, elle se rendit avec Patrick Sahajasein en Chine, au Centre national de tennis de Table à Heibei.

Trois semaines d’entraînements intensifs qui ont porté leurs fruits.

Aujourd’hui, Widaad Gukhool pourrait facilement faire une séance d’entraînement face à un Warren Li Kam Wa ou encore un Billy Chan Yook Fo. Pour améliorer ses relances, l’Association mauricienne de tennis de table (AMTT) a favorisé les frottements avec des sparring- partners masculins alors qu’un ami de la famille, Lasser Auchaybur, offre son aide à la pongiste en tant que coach personnel.

Après toute cette préparation, ne reste plus pour elle qu’à briller lors des JIOI. Elle enlèvera deux médailles d’or, une par équipe fi lle et l’autre en double mixte aux côtés de Rhikesh Taucoory dans des conditions plus que défavorables car elle était en pleine période de ramadan. Elle enchaînera, par la suite, avec une 15e place en simple dame lors des Jeux d’Afrique à Maputo et conservera son titre de championne de Maurice lors du Championnat national.

Désormais, le grand objectif que peut se fixer Widaad Gukhool c’est de briller au niveau continental et passer un autre cap tout en gardant les pieds sur terre.

Olivier CHAPUISET(Source : Lexpress)

Google Translation to English:

From its 17-year Widaad Gukhool has already marked the Mauritian table tennis. No shortage of praise for the table tennis player who hit his first ball at the age of 8 years.
Into the fold, it is defi nes a unique table tennis. From his training, his education, his religious life Widaad Gukhool shows and shows from the beginning, it is ready to make sacrifices to achieve its objectives. Proof of this is the last Island Games Indian Ocean where it will hang two gold medals (team and mixed doubles) in a period of Ramadan. Widaad Gukhool has all the qualities of a sports car out of the ordinary.
Still, table tennis was not his first choice in its infancy. "When she was 7 years old, his brother Irfaan practiced karate and she wanted to engage in an activity so also it is put," says his father Ragck Gukhool. "This sport he liked, but it was not compatible with the discipline, so she practiced other sports like swimming."But she still can not find the Shoe Fits. This is where table tennis is in its life, a discipline that would change everything. Detected in 2004 by Mesnil Rajessen Descann, it will integrate the school in April 2004 of the Mauritius Sports Council and almost a year later won his first championship title in the categories benjamines and minimal. "There had been at that time it had real potential. She was very smart tactically and knew how to manage difficult times, something that many players could not do, "tells the national coach, Rajessen Descann.
Like any sport Mauritius, the first goal of a career is still the Island Games. Given his talent and all his titles, Widaad Gukhool reach it in 2007 at the age of 13. At the time, she was the sixth player in the national rankings and prove that his selection for the national team is warranted.
A studious table tennis
Indeed, his 13 years does not prevent him to go for the bronze medal in mixed doubles alongside Rajessen Descann player who was at the time. "The context was not easy for her but she was able to raise its level to get that medal," says national coach who says that in the history of table tennis "no one has ever done whatshe made to her age. Widaad career and his style of play can not be compared to that of an old table tennis player. "
Despite his involvement in the sport, it keeps in mind that the studies will play an important role in its future.
Student private college Doha Academy, she won eight units in School Certificate, a result that surprised his father. "I did not expect it to become as well.
For me, even though it had brought 20 units, this would not have been a problem because I knew all the sacrifices she made for her sport, training hours, the back and forth between home, theschool tutoring. I am proud of her because she is also involved heavily in religion, "said his father.
In the 2011 season, Widaad Gukhool has nothing to prove. She had started the season with a bronze medal in the team African Youth Championship 2011, ensuring the victory over the two matches she should play. She then brought her yet another championship title in Mauritius, with zero loss to the counter.
For the finer skin preparation for Jiří she went with Patrick Sahajasein in China, at the National Tennis Table Heibei.
Three weeks of intensive training that paid off.
Today Widaad Gukhool could easily be a workout in front of a Li Kam Wa Warren or a Billy Chan Yook For. To improve its reminders, the Mauritian Association Table Tennis (Amtt) promoted friction with male sparring partners when a family friend, Auchaybur Lasser, offers help to table tennis as a personal trainer.
After all this preparation, no more for her to shine in the Jiří. It will remove two gold medals, one for each team fi lle and one in mixed doubles alongside Rhikesh Taucoory under more adverse than as it was in the midst of Ramadan. She followed later with a 15th place in singles at the Games Lady of Africa in Maputo and will retain his title of champion Maurice at the National Championship.
Now, the general objective can be attached Widaad Gukhool is to shine at the continental level and go another direction while keeping the feet on the ground.
Olivier CHAPUISET(Source: Lexpress)

http://www.lexpress.mu/story/1862-decouvertes-widaad-gukhool.html

Announcement: Look for Muslim female athelete

2012-01-25T07:58:00.000Z

Human Rights Watch is looking for a Muslim female athlete to speak at an upcoming press conference they are hosting for the launch of a report about women's rights in Saudi. Apparently Saudi is trying to bar some female athletes from competing in the Olympics, hence HRW's concern.
If you know anyone (and have email addresses/phone numbers), please email to "Zahir Janmohamed" zahirj@gmail.com zjanmohamed

In their football boots, these women have seen the world

2012-01-17T17:03:00.001Z

In their football boots, these women have seen the world
Mona Abouissa

Dec 24, 2011

She knocks him to the grass and leaps over him. Leg muscles strain over Puma-sponsored socks. A whistle. She reaches out her hand and pulls him back to his feet. Another whistle. She runs to break through, he runs at her, they clash again, nothing matters except the ball trapped between their entwined legs. "Fight, fight, fight!" shouts the coach, a thick artery pulsing on his face. It's a vicious game. Physical distances between women and men count for zero on the pitch. "You need to forget you're a girl when you play football, you need to be vicious, but outside we are just normal girls," says the broad-shouldered Egyptian midfielder Faiza Heidar. For some it's the Nineties all over again, when young girls played football with boys on the streets in dusty provincial towns, egged on by older children.

Women's football was born on the streets of Egypt against all odds. "It's an illegitimate child of the Egyptian football federation," as the Egyptian club coach Mohamed Kamal puts it. There's one woman's will behind it. After her referee father Izzat's death, Seher Al Hawari was determined. She travelled to provincial clubs and found potential female players. After convincing their parents, Seher brought 25 girls aged 15 to 22 to the bustling capital and trained them for five years. The idea of women playing a rough masculine sport was an absurdity to the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) and a good joke for a patriarchal community. In 1997, under Al Hawari's initiative, the first women's football committee was finally established and led to the first Women's Football Tournament in Egypt. In 1998, Egypt played in the inaugural African Women's Championship organised by Fifa in Nigeria. Although the team didn't even make it to the quarter-finals, it was a giant leap. Al Hawari became the first African woman member of Fifa and the first female EGF board member. Her girls are now coaches raising the next generation of players. There are 12 clubs and around 500 players. "It's like a dream come true," Al Hawari says watching the national team playing a friendly match with a boys' team at the Confederation of African Football headquarters in Cairo.
"My home is up there," says Monika Staab as she looks up and points to the night sky. She has just finished a coaching course with Egyptian club coaches and is heading to Iran. In four years working for Fifa as an adviser on women's football development, she has travelled to 60 countries. "Football teaches us to respect each other, team spirit and human value, and if you do this maybe we'll have less war, less fighting, less people killed. I believe in this and that's why I've been doing it for four years." On the ground, she says, it's a struggle in strict countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, where girls risk their reputations for football.
Staab was 4 when she started playing, and football for girls was forbidden in 1970s Germany. She played it anyway, with boys behind her parents' backs. It was just like the conservative countries she would visit 40 years later. She was one of the first footballers who travelled beyond Germany to elsewhere in Europe when women's football was slumbering after a 50-year ban. The world of women's football has changed since then. There are 30 million female players worldwide, compared to 210 million men. The first Women's World Cup Championship was held in 1991, 61 years after the first World Cup in 1930. Germany is now one of the most successful teams .
"Football is my fate," says Isra'a Osama, 24, an Egyptian national team midfielder. Her strength is her persistence, which is her name in Arabic, so maybe it's fate.
"When you touch the ball, you feel something inside you bursts out,"says the speedy striker Shahinaz Yassin, 19, from the Jordanian national team. The girls' teams are about to play a friendly match. Last year the Egyptians lost 1-0 to Jordan at the Women's Football Cup Arabia 2010, which won Jordan an exclusive training camp in ermany in the run-up to the 2011 Women's World Cup. They didn't qualify, but it was an achievement for a new team, established in 2005. Jordan is now 59th in Fifa women's rankings - the highest ranked Arab team. Morocco is 73rd and Bahrain 75th, with Egypt 84th.

A tranquil pitch before the climax. Small rainbows form above the sprinklers. Little black beetles are wandering around. Many are destined to fall victims to the match. Girls are giggling on balconies about some Facebook photos before they head out for the briefing. "Today I don't want you to think that I've got a ball and now I'll tear my opponent apart; I want you to connect with each other," says Tarek El Siyagy, the head coach. He coached Gambia's national U-17 team for four years and won a World Cup victory in 2009. This is his first experience in coaching females.
Hesterine De Reus, the head coach of the Jordanian team, says the current turmoil in the region has more of a negative effect on football in Jordan. "It enabled conservatives to put on pressure. We occasionally practise with boys because it's challenging for the girls, but last time nobody could play with us because the press criticised us under their influence." Just like Monika Staab, who first played "illegally" with boys in Holland. Between 1983 and 1993 Hesterine gained 44 caps for the Netherlands women's national football team. After 20 years working for the Dutch Football Association and coaching the Dutch national U-19 team, she moved out of her comfort zone to Jordan.
It's the second half; the first was drawn 0-0. The Egyptian team appears more substantial than the Jordanian, and more aggressive. An ambulance is on stand-by. The Egyptian reserve team recites the Fatiha (the opening of the Quran) loudly with their hands crossed behind each other's backs. The Jordanian reserves are quieter. Beyond are two circles on each side of the pitch - red and white - they give a shout and take their positions. A whistle. Both teams know that there will be goals. They chase, knock, enrage each other. Nobody likes to lose. Players on the ground, mostly Jordanians, pain and cries. Doctors wait for a sign, all good. Egypt win this time, 2-1. The men from the media pick up their phones and report: "Al Hawari's team won."
When the match is over, the Egyptian team has qualifiers for the 2012 African Cup to prepare for. They are up against countries such as Nigeria, who are eight-time winners of the African Women's Cup, while the Jordanian team travels to the Emirates for the West Asian Football Federation tournament. Then there is a match with the Women's World Cup champions, Japan, in Palestine.
At a training session at Wadi Degla club, I have never seen so many girls spitting in Egypt. "Go, Messi, go!" They occasionally call each other by their football idols' names, usually those of male players. "When there was a women's match on TV, I switched channel immediately," remembers Mohamed Kamal, before he started coaching girls in 2003. Now he's the head coach of Wadi Degla club, champions four seasons in a row. "People advised me against it, said I'm ruining my coaching career." But he was impressed by the players and wanted to be a part of something new. He has been coaching since 1981, after sustaining an injury as a professional player. Kamal is a good coach and knows how to read a footballer. "If I think about her as a girl, I'll never be able to coach her; she's an athlete on the pitch." Kamal says that at the end of a rough session, they are girls and they need to feel that with a nice compliment. "And girls talk a lot, all the time," he laughs. They travelled to Europe and the Middle East, but some players haven't seen beyond Egypt, like a team from Kena in Upper Egypt. "Once I was asked to lead Kena's team to a tournament in Jordan. The girls never travelled abroad - they had never even seen an elevator - so whenever I couldn't find a player, I knew I'd find her going up and down in the hotel's elevator," Kamal laughs. "We brought the cup home that time."
Not everyone is as good as Heidar, who is a starlet of her club Tayaran, coaches male players and plays on the national team. She loves a challenge and won't leave her club, even if she's paid less there than she would be elsewhere. The girls are only paid by their clubs and not supported financially by the FDA, Kamal notes. Unlike in other Arab countries like their rivals in Jordan who are supported by Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, president of the Jordan Football Association. The players of Wadi Degla receive the highest salary, the equivalent of Dh600. There's also a championship bonus of Dh9,300, and some of them even bought cars, Kamal says. But the gap in performance between the Wadi Degla club and the others is obvious - their players make up the majority of the national team.
Sally Ismael, 21, is a popular striker on the national team with her virtuoso dribbling, a move she borrowed from Christiano Ronaldo. She runs circles around the pitch on her own. Ismael has been playing football since she was 6. She moved from Mansoura to Wadi Degla club in Cairo to pursue a professional career in football. She traveled to Zambia, Congo, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan and the UAE with the team, and Estonia and Finland on her own. "I have style and if I get fitter, then I can do miracles," Ismael says. A Finnish coach noticed her in Cairo and invited her to play in Finland, which she happily did without telling anyone. Coach Kamal is concerned that countries such as Qatar and the UAE offer money and nationality, and whisk away good players. Ismael came back to Cairo. "Foreign players are fit but they don't have the moves," she says, sitting in the dormitory, with Arabic pop music blaring. "Kaka is fit and scores the goals, but he's not eye-grabbing like Messi or Ronaldo."
In Arab women's football, little details make big changes. "The veil gives me power, " says Yassin. The neck-covering veil violates an agreement between Iran and Fifa in 2007. Fifa insisted the agreement was a concession on its banning of all expressions of religious or political beliefs on the pitch. Consequently the Iranian team was disqualified from the 2012 Olympic qualifiers. Yassin was disqualified as well, and her team had to play without her. There's a specially designed cap that covers the hair only. Heidar wears it, but Yassin refuses on religious grounds. De Reus says the ban costs potential players.
Football opened the world for the girls. They travel across the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. On the other hand, their passion eats their time, their personal life and forces them to compromise. But there's no other way. "When you're born with a gift, how can you let it go," asks Osama. I ask if they ever thought of leaving football: "No," each one replies. The key is to find a balance between their passion and their private life. The Jordanian team defender Farah Badratah, 24, just got married. Not many girls can play football and be married, De Reus says, and that is one reason why the team is so young. Farah is an uncommon phenomenon. She balances football with her day job at the football union, training and her own home.
Maisa Ejbarah, 22, prefers to have two separate lives. A rough and busy one with her teammates where it's all about football, and the other one outside it, where the Arab Striker of 2010 can have girlie moments with her friends. While Yassin postpones; "after I'm 30, when I achieved what I could, I'll have life of my own, my own family, stability, a life I don't have now."
Heidar explains that there is a day in a footballer's life where you feel that you have given all you could to the game. They hope through studies and coaching experience their lives will be linked to football, but they also know that one day they won't play it anymore. Until then it's simple; they keep doing what is innate in them - football.
For more stories from M magazine, visit www.thenational.ae/m

Hostage to her beliefs

2012-01-17T16:59:00.002Z

By Diana Plater

I read recently that the daughter of Iran’s former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, had been sentenced to six months in prison for spreading “propaganda against the Islamic system”.

The sentencing of Faezeh Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former member of parliament turned political activist, was the latest move to stamp out potential dissent ahead of elections in March, the report said.
I remember meeting Ms Hashemi in 2000 several months before the Sydney Olympics. She and a colleague were sitting at the back of the audience of an international sports and human rights conference held in Bondi.
They stood out there because they were covered from head to foot in black chadors.
I waited that whole day to interview her for WIN (Women’s International Net Magazine), for whom I was Australian correspondent, believing she would have an interesting story to tell.
At the time she was the member for Parliament for Tehran, having received 800,000 votes in 1996. She had also founded the women’s newspaper, Zan.
“(My father’s) fame and also his name somehow was influential,” Ms Hashemi told me at the time. “(But) I personally was well known because of my previous social activities, especially for focussing on women’s issues, youth, and also on sport. Most people know me well from this.”
She was then the Vice Chairperson of the Iranian National Olympic Committee and Chairperson of the Council for Female Sports of the Islamic Countries and during our interview I learnt she had spent many years pushing for Muslim women to become more involved in sport, both in her native Iran and outside.
She was here in Sydney partly to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) organisers to allow Islamic dress during competition, in order to pave the way for Muslim women’s participation in the 2000 Olympics.
She believed the role of sport in Muslim women’s lives was not just a matter of personal choice but a fundamental human right.
And for this reason she had been lobbying the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to respect the dress codes of Islamic society.

Because the Olympics then did not recognise these dress codes, more than 30 Muslim countries – particularly the Arab states – could not take part.
Ms Hashemi told me Iran’s constitution paid detailed attention to the high values of physical education and sports, as an effective educational plan, “which provides physical and mental wellbeing for the society in general and women and mothers in particular”.
In the Atlanta Olympics, Iran had one woman shooter, who carried her country’s flag. Only in the sports of canoeing, shooting, table tennis and athletics did the women’s uniforms match the Islamic dress code.
For these reasons, alternative games, only for women, were held in Iran.
Since then, while Ms Hashemi prefers to wear the chador herself, she has been a staunch advocate of the relaxation of the strict dress code, as she believes women should be able to decide for themselves what they wear.
The latest court case arose from election protests held in Iran in June, 2009, when she was reported as having addressed a crowd at a banned opposition rally in Tehran. She was subsequently prohibited from leaving the country. According to Iranian state media, she was arrested and briefly detained on June 20 (together with four relatives), and again on February 20, 2010 after “making blunt statements and chanting provocative slogans”.
Ms Hashemi has been a sharp critic of the present government led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
BBC News reported that her trial took place behind closed doors. And her punishment may be turned into a suspended jail term on appeal, as often happens with opponents of the Iranian authorities.
Ms Hashemi has given interviews in recent months in which she defended her father’s position – and this appears to be her offence, BBC News said.
The influential Rafsanjani clan has been longtime kingmakers within Iran’s political elite, and according to time.com Ms Hashemi infuriates the regime by championing her father’s politics, seen by some as being pro-American.
It’s a particularly sensitive time in this part of the world, as Iran faces a possible oil embargo and trade threats with the United States and the British Navy has sent its largest sea contingent to the Gulf. So the Iranian government does not want the world to witness internal divisions in the lead up to the elections.
Ms Hashemi, who has been harassed in public, has 20 days to appeal the verdict against her.
While I’m the first to admit my lack of knowledge of Iranian politics, I remember her as an elegant, attractive and outspoken woman and a strong advocate for women’s rights, so deserving of other women’s support.
Among many others arrested in the 2009 protests, she was mentioned in a report by Amnesty International, Iran: Election Contested, Repression Compounded.
Amnesty however is not working on her case. If you would like to show solidarity to her and others arrested in election protests you can write to the Iranian authorities directly, condemning her sentence and persecution. The target details are:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
*Diana Plater is a journalist, writer, playwright and media consultant based in Sydney. You can read her blog, Landscapes, at www.dianaplater.com

Source: http://store-archive.blogspot.com/2012/01/hostage-to-her-beliefsby-diana-plater.html

Olympic Hopeful Mixes Muslim Faith And Fencing

2012-01-08T15:04:00.001Z

World-class fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad hopes to compete in the 2012 London Olympics. If she qualifies, it is believed that she will be the first practicing Muslim to represent the U.S. in women's fencing, and the first American to wear Islamic head-covering while competing. She speaks with host Michel Martin.
Copyright © 2012 National Public Radio®. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to turn our attention now to sports. Ibtihaj Muhammad is currently training about 40 hours a week, hoping to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics. Her dedication and skill would cause her to stand out, anyway, but there's another reason she does: her hijab, which she wears while competing. She hopes to become the first American Muslim woman to compete and hopefully win at the Olympic Games wearing a hijab.

And she was nice enough to take a break from her busy schedule to talk with us more about her sport and her faith. Welcome. Thank you so much for joining us.

IBTIHAJ MUHAMMAD: Thank you.

MARTIN: For listeners not familiar with fencing, could you tell us a little bit more about the sport and also about your particular weapon? You compete in the saber, if I have that right.

MUHAMMAD: Yes. A lot of people have seen fencing in movies like "The Parent Trap," or have an idea of it from "Zorro." And it's, I guess, something similar to that. We use weapons, and I'd like to describe it as the physical chess. It's very tactical, and you have to be athletic, and it's really exciting.

MARTIN: I do want to mention that you are ranked number two among U.S. women using that weapon.

MUHAMMAD: Yup.

MARTIN: So that's no small achievement there. I just want to let people know that, you're highly accomplished in your field. How did you get interested in fencing?

MUHAMMAD: I was driving past my local high school - I think I was about 12 - with my mom, and she noticed the fencing team practicing in the high school from the road and, you know, she suggested that I try out when I got to high school. And what drew us to fencing was the long sleeves and long pants that the fencers wore.

As a practicing Muslim woman, I knew that I would not only have to find a sport that accommodated my religious beliefs, but also where I could be fully covered and not have to change the uniform.

MARTIN: And had you played any sports before?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah, I have. I think back then I ran track. I played softball and a little bit of tennis.

MARTIN: But you were younger than 12, so you were not yet at the age where you would be expected to begin covering. Is that it?

MUHAMMAD: No, no, no, no. But when I got to high school, I played four years of volleyball. I played softball. And, you know, with volleyball, you wear - my teammates wore spandex and, like, a tank top. That was our team uniform. And I wore a t-shirt underneath the tank top and I swore sweatpants. So fencing was a bit different in that I didn't have to alter the uniform at all, and I really felt a part of the team.

MARTIN: What is it that you like about it? Obviously, it took to you and you've taken to it. What do you think you - what do you like about it, and why do you think you're good at it?

MUHAMMAD: You know, it's tough. I enjoy being able to critique myself when I'm finished fencing, whether I win or lose. I like that I can, you know, pick apart that particular bout. I know how I scored touches, how I lost touches or points. You know, it's really easy to, you know, lose and be able to fix your mistakes, whereas on a team, you know, I guess whether you win or lose can be in the hands of someone else, and I've never felt comfortable with that.

MARTIN: If you're just joining us, this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm speaking with Ibtihaj Muhammad. She is a fencer. She has her sights set on the 2012 London Olympics. She's currently ranked number two among U.S. women using her weapon, the saber. And she is also a Muslim American, and she plans to compete wearing her hijab. She hopes to be the first Muslim American woman to compete at an Olympic games, in fact, wearing hijab.

I notice you said you were looking for a sport where you didn't have to modify the uniform, where hopefully you actually just fit in more and didn't feel kind of having to make these accommodations. But you have had to make accommodations to compete.

For example, I understand that you participated in a training camp in Colorado Springs which was during Ramadan, where the observant fast from sunup to sundown. How did you accommodate the rigorous training schedule - especially at altitude, right - while fasting? And also refraining from taking water. How did you do it?

MUHAMMAD: You know, that was, honestly, I think, one of the toughest Ramadans that I've had in my experience while fasting, not only, you know, abstaining from eating or drinking, but also, as you said, the altitude. Trying to be an athlete and train at a really high altitude is tough. You dehydrate a lot faster. You're susceptible to injury when you're dehydrated. So we were training twice a day, and I found that meeting with the trainers at the Olympic training center, they were really, really helpful.

They put me on a strict diet, like I didn't have a lot of salt intake. I had to wake up periodically in the night to consume Gatorade and water to make sure that I didn't suffer from dehydration. And the tough thing about it is, you know, when you're not drinking and you're training at this level, you do suffer from dehydration, and I did have a few muscle strains and pulls during that time. But, you know, fasting is a part of my life. Being Muslim is a part of my life, and, you know, fencing, I work into it, but I wouldn't fence if it hindered, you know, me practicing my religion in any way.

MARTIN: But won't the Olympic Games in 2012 coincide with Ramadan?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah, they will.

MARTIN: Well, how do you anticipate adjusting? I guess you'll have to do the same thing, right? Hydrate at night and - I don't know. What are you going to do?

MUHAMMAD: Yeah. I mean, honestly, if I'm blessed to make the team, then that's like the furthest thing from my mind, you know, having to fast while competing. I've done it before and, you know, I feel as though I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. It's not something that I worry about.

MARTIN: You know, people often - these days, the narrative around being Muslim American is, you know, you get sort of these sort of polar opposite perspectives. On the one hand, you know, there was a series on - a reality series - it's just actually concluding this weekend - called "All-American Muslim." The idea, obviously, is to show that, you know, Muslims are Americans like everybody else and they do the same stuff and, you know, they want to play sports and, you know, they have their family squabbles and, you know, men do the dishes and, you know...

MUHAMMAD: Right.

MARTIN: ...excuse me, it's not a big deal. And then there's this other thing, where there's this other sort of narrative where people are - there's a constant tension, and are people treating you differently because of your hijab or your religious practices. And then there's the other story of: Can we really trust these people? Are they really our fellow, you know, patriots? Are they really loyal to the country and so forth?

And I'm just - you know, we're talking about your sport and, really, if we weren't talking about the accommodations of Ramadan and the uniform, we could really be talking to, sort of, any other athlete. I guess what I'm wondering is, in your world, does the fact of your being a Muslim American matter a very great deal, except for the fact that it is important to you in your own individual way and as a part of who you are? Does that make sense? Do you know what I'm asking?

MUHAMMAD: It does. You know, being a Muslim American is not easy at all. It's very difficult. And the way I practice Islam speaks for itself and, you know, people can either accept me or they can choose not to. And I feel the same way about the show. I don't think that "All-American Muslim" in any way represents who I am. I like to think that I'm a very conservative Muslim, and I think that a lot of the Muslims on that show, I would say, are extremely liberal.

But when you do have people who have this close-minded view of what Islam is, it's easy to group us all into one box or one category.

MARTIN: Do you hope, though, that in part, your participation in the Olympics will - if you are lucky enough to make the team - will have some positive benefit in how people view Muslims and Islam? Or would you really prefer that they not think about your religion or your religious identity when you're competing?

MUHAMMAD: I mean, the reality is that I am different. I mean, I'm African-American and I do wear the hijab. So I know that I look completely different from my teammates, and I don't expect everyone to ignore that fact. I mean, even with them fencing, yes, there are very, very few Muslims. I'm the only Muslim on the team, but there are even fewer, I'd say, minorities.

To some way, you know, encourage or inspire minorities - religious minorities in the country to see themselves in this space, I know that I have accomplished a lot, but I think that there's definitely more ground to cover. I mean, fencing has done so much for me. You know, it helped me get into a really great university, and I wouldn't be where I am in my life without fencing, without sports. And it's helped me focus in so many ways.

So if my message reaches anyone, I hope that it reaches more kids than anything. I want them to be comfortable in their own skin and be comfortable with practicing their religion, and not only in the United States, but everywhere.

MARTIN: Ibtihaj Muhammad is a fencer. She currently ranks number two among U.S. women using her particular weapon, the saber. She is training to compete in the 2012 Olympics, which will be held in London. And she was kind enough to join us today from our studios in New York.

Ibtihaj, thank you so much for speaking with us, and good luck to you in everything. Keep us posted.

MUHAMMAD: Michel, thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.

MARTIN: Please join us tomorrow for our regular Faith Matters conversation. We'll talk about the observance of Epiphany, or Three Kings Day.

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Listen To The Interview From The Source: http://www.npr.org/tablet/#story/?storyId=144737954

A case of the defunct kabaddi team

2012-01-08T15:03:00.001Z

By Fawad Hussain

Tides have change in recent times when it comes to women taking part in sport and even going on to represent the country on global arena.
Besides various indoor games, the nation is represented in cricket, football, tennis and even athletics, but when it comes to the most talked-about cultural sport of the region – kabaddi– it’s only the men who don the greens and have taken Pakistan to being a major force along with India and Iran.
Pakistan’s involvement in the kabaddi World Cup was a credible effort, ending third in the event. The World Cup Kabaddi Championship, solely for the women for the first time, will be held in March where 16 countries will showcase their skills for the title. But there will be no female participation for Pakistan despite a huge following of the sport complemented aptly by effort. The simple reason: Pakistan do not have a female kabaddi team. The reason behind it is very complicated: a potential threat for those who show an effort to form one.
Ironically, Muslim countries including Bangladesh, Iran and Indonesia will be among the participants. But it’s not that Pakistan’s kabaddi officials have not tried to form a team. Sensing a realistic chance of winning a medal at the 2010 Asian Games, where the discipline made its debut, the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) assembled a team a couple of years before the competition. The team visited Iran for a series but was soon disbanded after criticism from various quarters.
“We became an instant enemy for many after we formed the women’s kabaddi team,” recalled a senior PKF official. “We were suppressed in many ways and we even received death threats and were abused. There were complaints lodged against us with ministers, calling an end to the national squad. We were left with no other option but to disband the team.”
The official added that Pakistan have the potential to win laurels in women kabaddi in international events.
“This sport is played at the highest level, including the Asian Games. Our women have a good chance of winning medals as we have a lot of talent. Plus our country is full of mentors and there won’t be any training or guidance issues.”
The official rued the fact that the sport had fallen victim to misconception, adding that ‘the dress code in women’s kabaddi is not rigid and the team played with full track suits in the series against Iran’. The hopes, however, of forming a women’s team still exist, confirmed the official, who added that they were just waiting ‘for the right time’.
The writer is a sports reporter at The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 8th, 2012.
Photo Note: While several Muslim countries, including Bangladesh and Iran, have formed women’s kabaddi teams, the notion has been frowned upon in Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP
Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/318143/a-case-of-the-defunct-kabaddi-team/

Visa delay forces Welsh golfer out of Indian tournament - because her father is from Pakistan

2012-01-02T20:52:00.001Z

by Martin Shipton, Western Mail
PROFESSIONAL golfer Sahra Hassan should tomorrow be teeing off in one of the biggest tournaments of her career.

But the 24-year-old from Newport will not be taking part in the DLF Indian Open in Delhi because of delays in obtaining a visa caused by the fact that her father was born in Pakistan.

Miss Hassan applied for a visa to play in the Indian tournament seven weeks ago – but has had no success. She said she was not expecting any difficulties, with other players having obtained a visa with ease.

She said: “I paid an agency to sort out a visa for me, and I didn’t expect any problem. Some friends of mine got visas back within four days.

“I played in India two-and-a- half years ago and the people at the Indian High Commission were a bit abrupt but the visa came through OK.

“This time I kept getting requests for more information, but even when I provided it the visa wasn’t forthcoming.

“I’m very disappointed at not being able to take part in the tournament – it would have been a great experience.

“I’m sure it’s to do with the political tensions between India and Pakistan, but that’s got nothing to do with me. My father may have been born in Pakistan, but I’m Welsh. Politics over there is nothing to do with me – I just want to play golf. This is the end of my season so far as tournaments are concerned – all I can do is practise.”

Her father Ash Hassan, who runs Duffryn post office in Newport, said: “I came here from Pakistan in 1967 when I was a child. My wife was born in Britain, as was Sahra. We’re all Welsh, and Sahra has represented Wales and Great Britain.

“It seems ridiculous to me that she’s been stopped from playing golf just because I was born in Pakistan.

“I can understand the need for security because of terrorism, but stopping a young golfer playing in a tournament is just ridiculous.”

Miss Hassan turned professional in January 2009 and plays in the European Ladies Tour, In June this year she was 12th in the Deloitte Dutch Ladies Open, and in October she came 13th in the Sicilian Ladies Italian Open. She is attached to Vale of Glamorgan Golf Club and practises at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.

She appears on the website Muslim Women in Sport as a role model for Muslim girls.

On it she says: “My parents wanted me to get a proper profession like a doctor, accountant or barrister, but I have always loved sport and admired people like Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam and the Williams sisters. My Dad’s family especially wanted me to get a proper profession like most Asian families – they didn’t agree with having golf as a profession.”

Nevertheless her parents have been fully supportive of her career choice.

Asked by the website what role Islam plays in her life, she said: “To be kind to others and be a nice human being.”

Political tension between predominantly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan – always a factor since the two countries gained independence from Britain in 1947 – has intensified since a number of terrorist attacks blamed by India on Pakistan.

In November 2008 more than 100 people were shot dead in Mumbai in a co-ordinated attack India says was organised from Pakistan.

The two countries are also involved in rivalry involving nuclear weapons.

While India has long held a position of “no first use”, Pakistan, with weaker conventional forces, refuses to rule out the option of starting a nuclear war against India. Earlier this year it test-fired a new missile, the Hatf IX, with a range of just 60 kilometres and specifically designed for warfare.

A spokeswoman for the Indian High Commission in London said she was looking into Ms Hassan’s case.

Source: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/12/08/banned-from-golf-in-india-because-my-dad-was-born-in-pakistan-91466-29915562/#ixzz1iKuyg1VP

Somali women defy danger to write basketball history

2012-01-02T20:36:00.001Z

By Teo Kermeliotis, for CNN
(CNN) -- It's just a few minutes after the final whistle has blown and the shiny basketball court of the Al Gharafa Sports Hall in Doha is filled with shouts and cheers.
The sky blue-clad national women's basketball team from war-ravaged Somalia has just beaten Qatar, the host nation, at the 2011 Arab Games, in a hotly-contested match that ended 67-57 to the East African country.
"Words can't describe how I felt," says Canadian-born Somali team member Khatra Mahdi about last week's triumph. "We were all jumping up and down, there were tears in the girls' eyes -- history was made right there," she adds.
The victory marked a remarkable feat for the Somali players as it came against a backdrop fraught with difficulties and danger.
Notwithstanding Somalia's prolonged civil war and shattered sports infrastructure, the team says it had to prepare for the Games in the bullet-ridden police headquarters in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. There, the women would train for two to three hours a day under the watchful eye of security officers, tasked to safeguard them against religious militants targeting women playing the sport.
Fertile territory for Al Shabaab in chaos of Somalia
The threat is always there -- there are people who will see girls playing sport as a devil's thing and they will not allow it.
Duran Ahmed Farah, Somali National Olympic Committee
"We try to protect them outside and inside," says Said Duale, the secretary general of the Somali Basketball Federation, adding that the safety of the women is "taken very seriously."
In recent years, many Somali athletes have been threatened by members of the militant Islamist group Al Shabaab who see sport as an "un-Islamic" activity, according to Duran Ahmed Farah, the Somali National Olympic Committee (NOC) senior vice president for international relations.
In summer 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which then controlled Mogadishu, labelled sport as a "satanic act" and issued an order prohibiting women from playing sport, including basketball.
A few months later, the ICU was deposed but Al Shabaab, which has connections to al Qaeda, is still fighting to impose its own interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, on the country.
"The threat is always there -- there are people who will see girls playing sport as a devil's thing and they will not allow it," Farah says.
Women have been stoned to death for adultery; amputations and beheadings are common while in some areas Al Shabaab has banned listening to the radio.
Inside Kenya's war with Al Shabaab
"These girls are brave: in that kind of environment they're still playing their sport, the sport they like," says Farah.
Basketball is one of the most popular sports amongst women in Somalia. Duale says that the country's first national female basketball team was created in the early 1970s but hadn't performed at an international tournament since 1987.
The Islamist ban, coupled with the challenges presented by the lack of sponsorship and destroyed facilities, have all hindered the development of the sport in recent years.
Yet, despite the threats and all the setbacks, Somalia's national women's basketball team concluded its participation at the Games on Monday with the very respectable tally of three losses and two victories -- Kuwait also lost to Somalia.
We want to use sport as a peace-building tool to bring the Somali people together.
Aden Hagi Yeberow, NOC president
Like some other teams representing Muslim countries, the national team plays in relatively modest uniforms: track pants and shirts with elbow-length sleeves; players also wear scarves that cover their hair.
Coach Mohamed Sheekh put together an ambitious team comprised of women based in Somalia and the diaspora -- the United States, Canada, UK and Germany. Many of the players hadn't even seen their teammates before, let alone played a basketball game with them.
"I'm very happy and proud of them," says Sheekh of his players. "They were excellent and everyone was talking about them."
NOC president Aden Hagi Yeberow says the team's success in Doha can act as a unifying factor in a country that's been plagued by insecurity, political instability, lack of unity and scarcity of resources.
"We want to use sport as a peace-building tool to bring the Somali people together," he says. "What these young girls are doing in this tournament has laid the foundations, hopefully, of a good future of our people.
"We would like to capitalize on this and also to move forward and, hopefully, this will be the beginning and the start of the unity of our people."
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/22/sport/basketball-somalia-women-al-shabaab/

Qatar women hope to make history at 2012 Olympics

2011-12-30T20:47:00.001Z

DOHA: Three weeks before the Arab Games in Doha, Qatari sports officials called Nada Mohammed Wafa to tell her she would be competing in the Middle East's biggest sporting event.

Surprised - and a bit scared - the 17-year-old swimmer replied: "Oh wow! Sure!"

Wafa, who had only competed in school-level events until then, trained hard to make up for the short time she had before making history by becoming the first woman on Qatar's national swim team.

"It's a good feeling, but it's also very lonely," Wafa said. "It's just me, myself and I."

Wafa may be Qatar's lone female swimmer, but she is part of a group of emerging athletes in the conservative Muslim country that hopes to send women to the Olympics for the first time in London next year.

And if Wafa's phone rings in five months or somebody confirms her name is on the list, she would be delighted to go and compete.

"I'd be over the moon," Wafa said.

Along with Saudi Arabia and Brunei, Qatar has never sent female athletes to the Olympics. Last year, the International Olympic Committee urged the three countries to end the practice of sending all-male teams to the games, hoping that naming and shaming would do more for female athletes than banning their nations from the Olympics.

While Saudi Arabia's plans to send women to the London Games remain wrapped in secrecy, Qatar is feverishly working to escape the stigma that comes with failing to include women.

Over the past decade, the tiny but rich Gulf country has been targeting sports as a vehicle to showcase its global aspirations. Last year, it became the first Arab country to win the right to host the World Cup in 2022. And Qatar's bid for the 2020 Olympics adds the pressure to include women on the teams in London.

Qatar Olympic Committee president Sheik Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said female athletes have been competing in international tournaments for the past three years, including last year's Youth Olympics in Singapore.

The only reason women were not included for the 2008 Beijing Games is because they didn't qualify in any sport, Sheik Saoud said. He added that Qatar is talking to the IOC about sending female athletes to the games next year on wild-card invitations.

"That's the thing with the Olympics. They can't go if they don't qualify," Sheik Saoud said. "It's not about us being unwilling to send women to the tournament. But it takes time to prepare athletes to compete on the international level."

It also takes time to change mindsets in a deeply conservative society. Qatar follows the Wahhabi branch of Islam, a strict version that predominates in Saudi Arabia.

There are no written laws in Qatar - or Saudi Arabia - that ban and restrict women from participating in sports. Rather, the stigma of female athletes is rooted in conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins.

Unlike in Saudi Arabia, where women are still banned from driving, much has changed in Qatar since the country began an ambitious process of opening up to the world, largely through hosting high-profile sporting events in tennis, soccer, and track and field.

But getting women to compete in Qatar is quite a different thing than sending then to compete abroad.

"It's unusual in this culture," said Hana al-Badr, a 20-year-old handball player who has seen the change since she joined Qatar's first female handball team four years ago. "My teachers and my friends in school use to look at me and say, 'You are a girl and you are traveling to play outside? How can your family let you?' But now it's become normal."

Wafa, the swimmer, didn't win any medals at the Arab Games but succeeded in improving her times.

She beat her best in the 50-meter breast stroke by 3 seconds and missed the finals by a second. She also improved her time in the 50 freestyle by a second, beat her personal best in the 100 breast stroke by 15 seconds and was happy with her time of 1 minute, 10 seconds in the 100 freestyle.

"It was amazing experience," Wafa said. "I had so little time to train, but I finished seconds away from champions. I am so happy with my results."

Qatar has invested heavily in women's sports over the past decade, introducing special programs for girls in school and organizing training camps at home and abroad for female athletes with talent and ambition to compete on the international level.

In the past three years, al-Badr and her teammates played in three international tournaments, including last year's Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, where 90 Qatari women competed in a half-dozen disciplines.

Qatar also started a six-team women's soccer league last year and hosted a Gulf basketball tournament. The shining moment for Qatar's female athletes came at last year's inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, where two qualified to compete.

"It's a big challenge for us," said Lolwah al-Marri, the general secretary of Qatar's Olympic committee who is charged with developing sports for women. "When we started, families were concerned for the girls' safety and were afraid people would start talking badly about their daughters."

The focus 10 years ago was on building women's team sports, but by December 2011, when Doha was hosting the Arab Games, 40 percent of the Qatari delegation were women, competing in volleyball and basketball and eight individual sports, including gymnastics and swimming.

"The dress code is a big problem in these sports," al-Marri said.

There are signs, however, that the times when families in the desert nation of 1.6 million kept their women confined to the home are receding into the past.

"It's not an issue, the dress," said Shaden Wahdan, a 16-year-old gymnast.

One of the costumes she wore at the Youth Olympics will one day be on display at an Olympic Museum that Qatar plans to open, Wahdan said. She is the first woman to have competed for Qatar in an Olympic event last year.

"I don't really care what people think. I want to compete and win medals," Wahdan said during this month's Arab Games, the region's biggest multi-sports event.

And win medals she did: two golds, one on the floor and another in the beam. She also was awarded two silver medals and a bronze, a tally that definitely boosted her chances of going to the London Games.

"It would be such a great experience," Wahdan said.

Saudi Arabia's 18-year-old equestrian athlete, Dalma Rushdi Malhas, was the first woman to compete internationally for the ultra-conservative kingdom. She won a bronze medal at the Singapore Youth Olympics.

Sticking to tradition, Saudi Arabia sent an all-male team to the Arab Games, but local media have reported that Riyadh might send Malhas to the London Games to avoid criticism.

Women's rights organizations - and some IOC members - say Saudi Arabia should be banned from the Olympics for excluding women.

"Dalma is being used as a token woman they want to send to London to avoid being banned," said Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Washington-based Institute of Gulf Affairs that has been behind the "No Women No Play" campaign that advocates the Saudi Olympic ban.

Qatari sports officials say it is unfair to lump their nation with Saudi Arabia. Many credit Sheika Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, Qatar's first lady and a campaigner for women's empowerment, for successfully conveying the message to society that sports can be good for girls.

"Going to the games is not an issue in Qatar. Changing mindsets is," said Noora al-Mannai, the CEO of Doha's 2020 Olympic bid, adding that Doha will in the next three years open a high-performance training center for female athletes from all over the region.

"It's happening," al-Mannai said, "but changes take time and I am sure that by the time Olympics come to Doha, there will be many female athletes who qualify to compete."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/events-tournaments/london-olympics/Qatar-women-hope-to-make-history-at-2012-Olympics/articleshow/11213673.cms?prtpage=1

French Women Groups Protest FIFA Decision To Endorse Hijab – Analysis

2011-12-30T20:31:00.001Z

Written by: James M. Dorsey

Three French women’s organizations have expressed concern and disappointment with world soccer body FIFA’s endorsement of a proposal to lift the ban on women players wearing a hijab, an Islamic hair dress, on the pitch.

“To accept a special dress code for women athletes not only introduces discrimination among athletes but is contrary to the rules governing sport movement, setting a same dress code for all athletes without regard to origin or belief,” the three organizations said in an open letter to FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Anne Sugier, president of the League of International Women’s Rights (LDIF) founded by Simone de Beauvoire, said in an email that she had sent the letter together with the heads of FEMIX’SPORTS and the French Coordination for the European Women’s Lobby, following publication on December 19 of the FIFA executive committee decision in The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.

FIFA endorsed at its December 16-17 executive committee meeting in Tokyo the proposal to lift a controversial ban on women wearing a hijab in a move that brings closer a resolution to demands by religious female Islamic soccer players that they be allowed to wear a headdress in line with their interpretation of their faith.

FIFA said it would submit the proposal put forward by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, a half-brother of Jordanian King Abdullah, to the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which governs the rules of association soccer.

IFAB is expected to discuss the proposal that calls for the sanctioning of a safe, velcro-opening headscarf for players and officials at its next scheduled meeting on March 3. England alongside FIFA, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland form the secretive IFAB.

The FIFA endorsement follows an earlier approval of the AFC proposal that resulted from a workshop convened in October in Amman by Prince Ali that was attended by prominent soccer executives, women players and coaches, including head of FIFA’s medical committee Michel D’Hooghe, AFC vice president Moya Dodd, members of FIFA’s women committee and representatives of the soccer bodies of Jordan, Bahrain, Iran and England.

The dispute over observant Muslim women player’s headdress led in June to the disqualification of the Iranian women’s national team after they appeared on the pitch in the Jordanian capital Amman for a 2012 London Olympics qualifier against Jordan wearing the hijab. Three Jordanian players who wear the hijab were also barred.

The three women’s organizations said FIFA’s acquiesce in the AFC’s assertion that the hijab, a headdress that complies with Islamic law that obliges women to cover their hair, ears and neck, as a “cultural rather than a religious symbol” and therefore did not violate IFAB rules was unacceptable.

The letter suggests that FIFA and AFC efforts to reach a compromise between world soccer rules and Islamic law followed by conservative female Muslim players was, likely to meet resistance from non-Muslim women’s and feminist groups. It is a battle between value systems in which conservative female Muslim players demand a right and non-Muslim women activists seek to impose what they see as a universal value.

Ironically, the two opposing groups may find common ground when it comes to Iran, which welcomed world soccer’s efforts to seek a compromise, but is likely to remain in the firing line because of its imposition of the hijab on its players rather than allowing it to be an individual voluntary decision. Iran is further likely to run afoul of world soccer because of its insistence that visiting foreign women soccer teams dress in accordance with the Islamic republic’s interpretation of Islamic law.

The three women’s organizations charged that the FIFA decision constituted an effort to kowtow to the most conservative Islamic states, presumably a reference to Iran and Saudi Arabia, which effectively bans women’s sports.

“To pretend that hijab is a cultural and not a religious symbol is not only preposterous, but untrue… You neither can put aside the fact that the conflict that has opposed FIFA to the Iranian regime is linked to Tehran’s will to impose its own religious law to women’s sport,” the organizations said in their letter.

They charged that Iran rather than seeing the hijab as a cultural symbol was seeking “to impose a political religious outfit for women, that covers entirely their body… Sport must stay clear of political and religious interfering. Its aim also is to eliminate all forms of discrimination. FIFA ruling is about to abandon this noble aim and FIFA will be accountable for that,” the organizations said.

About the author:
James M. Dorsey

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer.
Source: http://www.eurasiareview.com/29122011-french-women-groups-protest-fifa-decision-to-endorse-hijab-analysis/

Coaching women's basketball in Qatar

2011-12-22T11:18:00.002Z

WHAT WOMEN REALLY THINK ABOUT NEWS, POLITICS, AND CULTURE.
Coaching Women’s Basketball in Qatar

Most of them had never even dribbled before—but soon they were boxing out like Dennis Rodman. By Clare Malone|Posted Monday, Dec. 19, 2011, at 11:30 AM ET

The arc of my basketball career began rooted in one Abrahamic faith and over the years, in a cosmic curveball found itself inextricably linked with another. It was a Hail Mary-to-hijabs experience that went Midwest to Mideast.

My first layups were practiced in the St. Dominic School café-gym-atorium under the watchful eye of God, the Communion of Saints and Mr. Sweeney, a gruff middle-aged dad who sounded like he’d swallowed gravel and Mae West. He called 8-year-old-girls “schmucks” and favored suicides over pep talks. As a result, we were unstoppable. For five glorious years we reigned as Catholic Youth Organization champs for the East Side of Cleveland, no small feat; along with the Kennedy family and novelty boxing nun dolls, American Catholics are most proud of the fierce athleticism of their youth leagues. By the time I dropped basketball in eighth grade for what would become other serious athletic pursuits, I was hardwired for competition.

Armed with this belief in the liberating power of athletics, I marched into coachdom when I moved to Doha, Qatar, after college to work for an American university. Despite the prevailing local notion that women should confine themselves to the domestic sphere, the university had women’s basketball—part of the American college experience we were serving up for our predominantly Middle Eastern students. I volunteered to coach in September, and was excited to find a little bit of home in sports. To be part of a team again. To wear really slick suits to games, Rick Pitino-style. After years of furtive competition with fellow gym-goers on adjacent treadmills, I would regain a valid competitive outlet. In short, I was in it to win it.

What struck me about my first open practice in Doha was the sheer amount of hair. During school hours, when they were surrounded by men, many of the girls, practicing Muslims, wore hijabs, abayas, and stylish combinations of turtlenecks and flowing fabrics. Here, they’d literally let their hair down. All our practices were conducted with the door barred and a sign proclaiming “ladies only,” so that the privacy of girls whose religiosity prohibited men to see their bare head, legs, or arms would be protected. There was a lot of giddiness that first practice, partially due to the shorts and ponytail freedom, but also because, much to my alarm, a good number of them appeared to have never dribbled a ball. Nor had many ever run a lap. For many women in the region, exercise—let alone athletic competition—just isn’t a part of everyday life. Most of these waifish girls had the cardiovascular capabilities of hard-living 65-year-old teamsters. Whipping them into shape was going to be more difficult than I’d imagined.

My first dictum as coach was to initiate conditioning practices. I began the first session with the proclamation that we were going to go on a jog around campus, but some of the girls who wore hijab either didn’t have the proper clothing or were uncomfortable with the idea of an outdoor trot—I had only to think back to the catcalls of suburban lawn crews ogling hordes of high school field hockey players to understand this instinct. I learned to draw up an alternative indoor workout plan. Those willing to brave the desert heat and bewildered stares from passers-by I led on Indian runs and agilities, tearing up the sole green space on campus, a meticulously watered patch of grass in a sea of beige buildings and sand.
For the first couple of weeks, I tried to play elementary school gym teacher—I was there to push them, but gently. I had to demonstrate what high-knees running and the grapevine looked like. I tried to make them stretch as a team, counting in unison, the way American youth athletes do almost by instinct, but often ended up as the only voice by the time we reached “five.”

I tired of the Montessori act after the second week and got tough. The girls would feel real pain, dammit, and that pain would be suicides. I had a whistle and everything. Their first time up and down the court there was laughter and jogging, slight amusement at coach’s newest practice element. (I was only a couple years older than many of my charges, and a favorite topic of conversation between drills were their plans to set me up with a nice Muslim boy.) But by the end of the third round, the doubled-over panting of my players brought joy to my cold, cold heart. Now we were getting somewhere.

It was an uphill slog throughout the fall and early winter. They would tell me that they couldn’t run because they had their periods, and that they couldn’t make practice because of an impending paper. As someone who had both menstruated and been assigned homework while also playing a college sport, I was less than amused. There were also the family-imposed curfews to contend with, which prevented certain girls from making late practices, or weekend obligations with aunts and uncles that they just couldn’t get out of.
I sometimes wished that my girls had the discipline and experience of the players we came up against at the American expat high schools in the region, the freakishly tall, blonde Anabaptist beasts, offspring of Texas oil elite and pathologically wholesome Canadians who played with assurance and panache. I‘m certain that their coaches never had to explain that using your derriere to box someone out underneath the basket is not immodest or in the least way sexual. But I came to realize that it was the sheltered lifestyle of so many women in the region that kept some of the girls from pushing themselves. Sure, there’s the overt stuff that we see all over the news in the West—women covered head-to-toe in stifling black fabric and their supposed inability to operate motor vehicles. But in Qatar, people were constantly getting upset over the more subtle corrosion of “traditional values.” These usually have something to do with women and the things they’re allowed to do—like, say, play sports seriously. It’s as if traditionalists fear the entire country is going to erupt into one big ladies’ night if they’re not careful—all short skirts and tippling cosmos and marrying for love.

Cultural circumstances weren’t the only thing holding my players back either. Their personal travails were often quite serious. My big recruiting campaign was to convince a girl, who was worried about schoolwork and her husband who was stuck in Yemen, to join the team. And unlike typical American college students, she faced the additional pressure of keeping up with day-to-day family obligations in Qatar. Basketball ended up serving as an outlet of sorts for her, an hour or two of relief from the stresses that crowded the rest of her life.

Lebanon’s women bring in 3 gold medals

2011-12-22T11:11:00.002Z

Lebanon’s women bring in 3 gold medals

December 20, 2011 02:47 AMBy Kenny Laurie

The Daily Star

BEIRUT: Lebanese sport had its most productive day yet at the Arab Games in Doha Monday with Lebanon collecting three gold medals, all of which were won by female athletes.
Lebanon’s women’s basketball team showed up their male counterparts by clinching the gold medal at the Arab Games with a 72-34 win over hosts Qatar while Gretta Taslakian won the women’s 200-meter race and Katya Bachrouche clinched her second gold medal of the games in the 400-meter freestyle.
While the women’s team managed to go through the entire championship unbeaten, Lebanon’s men have slumped to two abysmal defeats, as well as suffering the embarrassment of revoking center Sam Hoskin’s citizenship for having once played basketball in Israel. Even more embarrassingly, the Sports and Youth Ministry admitted that it knew about Hoskin’s previous appearances in Israel but chose to cover up the detail. The women’s side, however, restored some much-needed credibility to the federation thanks to the sublime performances throughout the Arab Games.
As if to highlight Lebanon’s domination and philosophy, not one single player scored in double figures against Qatar, as the team instead shared the ball, resulting in only two players on the 15-woman roster failing to score. The team managed to create 22 assists in a blinding performance of team basketball. Rebecca Akl once again set the tone for Lebanon, handing out seven assists and troubling Qatar on the defensive end with five steals.
Taslakian’s gold medal will have gone some way toward atoning for her disappointing silver medal in the 100-meter race last week. The Lebanese athlete clocked a time of 24:10, two tenths of a second slower than her personal best and national record. Taslakian has now won three of the last four gold medals available to her in the Arab Games.
Bachrouche’s second gold medal marks the swimmer’s place as the nation’s most successful athlete at the games, having won the 400-meter butterfly race Saturday. The swimmer clocked a time of 4:15.24 to win gold.
Despite the slew of wins, Lebanon still sits in 13th place in the overall medal table with 18 medals, including four golds, four silvers and 10 bronze medals. Egypt still sit at the top of the table with more than double the medals (168) of second placed Tunisia (83).

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Daily Star on December 20, 2011, on page 15.

Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Sports/Basketball/2011/Dec-19/157342-lebanons-women-bring-in-3-gold-medals.ashx#ixzz1hGEtPxtQ
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

Barriers exposed

2011-12-17T19:33:00.004Z

'Sporting Equals' finally acknowledges "religious and cultural misinterpretations" as a barrier to Muslim women's full and active engagement in sport in the UK... now that, after decades of research, we have successfully managed to expose the tip of the ice-berg, we can pave the way to understanding the rest of the ice-berg!!

The latest book on Muslim Women and Sport

2011-12-17T19:29:00.005Z

This book by Prof. Tansin Benn (University of Birmingham) and colleagues examines the global experiences, challenges and achievements of Muslim women participating in physical activities and sport. It makes a profound contribution to our understanding of both contemporary Islam and the complexity and diversity of women’s lives in the modern world. A must-read for anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating topic. The book confronts many deeply held stereotypes and crosses those commonly quoted boundaries between ‘Islam and the West’ and between ‘East and West’. It makes a great-read reading for anyone with an interest in the interrelationships between sport, religion, gender, culture and policy.
Also: http://muslimwomeninsports.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-book-on-shelves-muslim-women-and.html

MWSF Ambassador Awards 2012

2011-12-14T11:23:00.000Z

It's about celebrating diversity and the contribution of "everyday" women in sport

The Ambassador Awards is a showcase event which will highlight the contribution of individuals and organisations to the unique arena of minority ethnic sports. This event, the first of its kind, will specifically focus on female role models from the Muslim community and those that have worked to increase access to sports for Muslim women across the globe.

Hosted by the Muslim Women’s Sport Foundation (MWSF) and supported by the Football Association, the Ambassador Awards will take place in April 2012 at the prestigious home of football, Wembley Stadium.

AWARD CATEGORIES

UK Sportswoman of the Year

The UK Sportswoman of the year award celebrates an exceptional Muslim woman who is a British citizen and has excelled or has the potential to succeed in her chosen sport and is an inspiration to the community.

International Sportswoman of the Year

The International Sportswoman of the year award celebrates an exceptional Muslim woman who is not a UK citizen and has excelled or has the potential to succeed in her chosen sport and acts as an inspiration to the community

UK Coach of the Year

The UK Coach of the year award recognises an individual, male or female, who has put particular effort into encouraging, improving and developing Muslim sportswomen in the UK and deserves merit for their efforts & accomplishments

Community Award

The Community Award applies to an organisation based in the UK or abroad that has made significant strides in promoting inclusion and equality as well as creating opportunities for Muslim women to participate in sport.

Volunteer of the Year

The Volunteer of the year award celebrates the contribution of an individual, male or female, for their invaluable and selfless commitment though volunteering to enhance, support and promote sport for Muslim women in the UK.

Outstanding contribution

The Outstanding Contribution award is intended to recognise an individual, male or female, whose contribution through their daily work has made a significant impact on the development of women’s sport in the Muslim community. This person would have gone above and beyond their call of duty to ensure sports activities for this community became and remains a reality.

To Nominate: http://www.awards.mwsf.org.uk/categories.html

Muslim fencer has it all covered

2011-12-12T11:15:00.000Z

By Julia Savacool

When Ibtihaj Muhammad discovered fencing in high school, there was no way she could have known her hobby would take her all the way to the cusp of the Olympic Games. Her passion for the sport was much simpler: As a practicing Muslim, she needed to cover herself in public. Here was a sport that required she do just that -- while still letting her experience the thrill of competing. Muhammad's knack for fencing quickly became evident, and she rose through the ranks to become one of the best in the country. Now, just three months from the announcement of the 2012 American Olympic team, she is training harder than ever for a spot on the roster, determined by points in upcoming tournaments. The competition is intense -- one mistake can be the difference between having a spot on the team or watching the Games from home -- but Muhammad remains focused. Her mother, Denise Muhammad, credits her daughter's success in part to her desire to be the first American Muslim female Olympian in her sport. espnW learned more from Denise about what it's been like for Ibti as an ethnic and religious outsider trying to fit in.

espnW: Fencing is a pretty niche sport. At what age did Ibti commit to it?

Denise Muhammad: We didn't even know what it was, really. She started getting involved with the sport in high school. But even at a young age, I encouraged all my children to be active. I have four daughters and a son, and they all played some kind of sport.

espnW: What else did Ibti play?

DM: She swam, played tennis, softball, track and field and volleyball. I'd make her outfits that covered her arms and legs, which allowed her to participate while still being true to her faith. She kept with volleyball through high school, along with fencing. But when it came time for college, it was clear there were better school opportunities for a fencer than a volleyball player. So she went that route.

espnW: Were you concerned about her fitting in?

DM: To a certain extent. Fencing is a very white sport. It isn't integrated, so she was truly a minority when she joined her team. But her teammates have been very accepting; it's her other friends, especially when she started, that gave her a hard time -- "You're doing what?!" -- that kind of thing. She learned early on not to let other people's opinions influence her goals in this sport.

espnW: Is that something she learned from you?

DM: I never played sports; I was just a spectator. I grew up in an era where girls were not encouraged to play sports. There were no female athletes in my family before Ibti.

espnW: The religious requirements do make it difficult ...

DM: As a Muslim girl playing school sports, you set yourself up to be singled out because of altering the uniforms. I don't think any of my Muslim friends or other Muslim women I knew would have encouraged their daughters to pursue athletics in a public school. Most of their children went to private schools, so they didn't have to face that situation. Financially, we couldn't do that. But I still encouraged my girls to play sports because of what it does for strengthening your body and your mind, and also because it's a healthy place for a social life. My girls knew I would never let them go to parties or mingle with the boys, but that was OK because they could socialize with their teammates.

espnW: What do you want your daughters to gain from playing sports?

DM: I want them to be self-confident. I raised Ibti to be very self-assured. With sports, when you're good at something, people are drawn to you -- they want to be around you, you're like a magnet. Ibti has made her identity as a fencer and an athlete. People respond to that, and it's given her confidence.

espnW: Where does she get her work ethic from?

DM: As a family, we never had money to play with. So it was always, if you're going to do something, we'll support you, but you need to give it your all. Don't be lackadaisical. But really, she pushes herself. She's a very competitive person.

espnW: You probably never imagined her getting to this point. Now that she has, any thoughts on her future?

DM: Well, last year at this time Ibti's goal was to make the world team. She kept saying, "Oh, Mom, if I could just make this team ..." And she did. Now it's, "Oh, Mom, if I could just make the Olympics ..." So that's obviously the big goal right now. We'll see -- the competition is very tough, but she's also very focused. As her mother, I don't want her to lose sight of having fun! I tell her, you don't have to carry our entire community on your shoulders. Just relax and enjoy it. You can't do any more than what God has planned for you."

Source: http://espn.go.com/espnw/journeys-victories/7323847/muslim-fencer-ibti-muhammad-all-covered

Apologies for the Delay, and Welcome to Dr Samaya Farooq

2011-12-12T11:05:00.000Z

Dear Followers of Muslim Women in Sports Blog,
Please accept my apologies for the one month break. As devoted followers may know, it was such an unusual incident for this blog. I was hospitalized for approximately two weeks, due to two surgeries in row on my right lung.

I am much better now and you shall soon begin receiving news about Muslim Sportswomen around the world.
Also, Dr Samaya Farooq is now a member of this blog. Dr Farooq is a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Gloucestershire. She will start sharing news with you. She is also an Advisory Board member to the ‘Centre for Sport and Spirituality’, and placement tutor for the ‘Sport Malawi’ initiative. Welcome to Dr Farooq!

Dr Samaya Farooq

Dr Samaya Farooq on BBC 4: Muslim Women's Basketball and Globalisation

2011-10-29T21:31:00.001+01:00

Dr. Samaya Farooq from University of Gloucestershire tells Laurie Taylor on her new study of Muslim sports women who combine faith and fitness. In the program called "Thinking Allowed", Laurie Taylor explores the latest research into how society works and discusses current ideas on how we live today. Prof. Henrietta Moore from University of Cambridge contributes to the program with a positive take on globalization.
Source: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/ta/ta_20111026-1712a.mp3

Prominent soccer executives and players seek compromise on the hijab

2011-10-26T22:25:00.001+01:00

By James M. Dorsey

World soccer body FIFA and observant Muslim women soccer players may be close to a compromise in their dispute over the wearing of the hijab, a headdress that covers the neck, ears and hair.

The dispute led in June to the disqualification of the Iranian women’s national team after they appeared on the pitch in the Jordanian capital Amman for a 2012 London Olympics qualifier against Jordan because the players wore the hijab. Three Jordanian players who wear the hijab were also barred.

The Iranian team’s insistence on wearing the hijab contradicted an agreement reached last year in Singapore between FIFA and the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) under which the Iranians agreed to the wearing of a cap that covered hair but not the neck.

Prominent soccer executives, women players, coaches and referees agreed at a brainstorm in Amman this week convened by FIFA Vice President Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein, a half-brother of King Abdullah, that the hijab is a cultural rather than a religious symbol.

“The hijab issue has taken centre stage in football circles in recent years due to the increasing popularity of women’s football worldwide. It is a cultural issue that not only affects the game, but also impacts society and sports in general. It is not limited to Asia, but extends to other continents as well,” the executives and players said in a statement.

By defining the hijab as a cultural symbol, the group, meeting under the auspices of the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP), an NGO founded by Prince Ali to advance grassroots, youth and women’s soccer, hopes to lay the groundwork for a compromise that acknowledges the cultural requirements of observant Muslim women and meets FIFA’s health and safety standards.

In doing so, the group, which included FIFA Executive Committee member and head of the body’s medical committee Michel D’Hooghe, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Vice President Moya Dodd, members of FIFA’s women committee as well as representatives of the soccer bodies of Jordan, Bahrain, Iran and the United Kingdom, hope to work around FIFA’s ban on the wearing of religious or political symbols on the pitch.

The group called on FIFA to articulate a clear policy that “avoid(s) any form of discrimination or exclusion of football players due to cultural customs” and establishes the pitch as “a forum for cultural exchange rather than conflict.”

Soccer executives said privately that the issue of the hijab had been complicated by the fact that the ban of the hijab on the pitch is based on a ruling by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) that determines the rules of the game. Interpretation of the IFAB ban on religious, political and personal symbols is left however to referees, which has led to differing interpretations on the pitch. It was the referee’s decision in June that led to Iran’s disqualification.

“The rules have to be adapted to the evolution of the game and the society or interpreted accordingly,” the group said, noting that “FIFA is committed to the basic principles of non-discrimination and allows on this basis the use of the head covering.”

The group said “safety must remain the most important consideration for the use of hijab.” It said that FIFA would coordinate accelerated research to ensure that the hijab or headdress worn by women on the pitch ensured safety in the game. It called on FIFA to consider “innovative designs …. with full consideration of medical aspects, particularly safety, aesthetic arguments, type of material.”

The group said that FIFA should weigh lower safety risks against the greater health benefit of women playing soccer and asserted that allowing the hijab would persuade more women to become players and empower them across cultures.

Prince Ali and Mr. D’Hooghe will put the principles adopted by the group to FIFA at its next executive committee meeting scheduled for December. The prince together with Ms. Dodd would also table the principles at next month’s AFC executive committee meeting, the statement said. It said that the principles would have to be “in accordance with the safety aspects” so that they could be proposed to IFAB when it meets in February 2012.

Farideh Khanom Shojaei, a member of the Iranian soccer body’s women’s committee, and Houshang Moghaddas, the international relations advisor to IFF President Ali Kafashian, said in an interview that the group’s proposal marked a significant step forward.

Ms. Shojaei and Mr. Moghaddas suggested however that final agreement on a compromise could still prove difficult. “The neck is very important,” Ms. Shojaei said, suggesting that Iran would insist on a design that covered not only the hair but also neck.

Ms. Shojaei and Mr. Moghaddas acknowledged that the fact that the hijab is compulsory for Iranian women players and that Iran imposes the wearing of the hijab on foreign teams playing in the Islamic republic was likely to remain an issue even if FIFA and IFAB adopt the group’s principles. Iran is the only country that has made the hijab compulsory for its players as well as for visiting foreign teams.

James M. Dorsey is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer
Source: http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.com/2011/10/prominent-soccer-executives-and-players.html

El Moutawakel to continue flying the flag

2011-10-24T14:19:00.001+01:00

Morocco's legendary athlete wants to ensure women assert themselves on international stage

By Alaric Gomes

Dubai: She is considered the face of athletics for women, and this is a tag that she proudly wears with grace and humility further enhancing her standing in the world of sports.

In her own words, Nawal El Moutawakel's story is that of "rising to a challenge to meet the aspirations of an entire Muslim world", first on and then off the field.

"I was a woman, a Muslim and speaking the language [English] were among some of the challenges before me. But I was strong and I decided to go forth in the world dominated by men," El Moutawakel told the Dubai 2nd International Symposium for Sports Creativity held yesterday along the lines of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sports Creativity Awards.

Born on April 15, 1962 in Casablanca, Morocco, El Moutawakel won the inaugural women's 400m hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, thereby becoming the first female Muslim born in Africa to become an Olympic champion.

She is also the first Moroccan and the first woman from a Muslim majority country to win an Olympic gold medal. In 2007, she was named the Minister of Sports in the Moroccan cabinet. After her Olympic gold, the King of Morocco telephoned El Moutawakel to pass on his congratulations, and he declared that all girls born the day of her victory were to be named in her honour.

Unfortunately, her father passed away a few months before the 1984 LA Games, denying her of much greater joy while on the victory podium. "When I received the gold medal I had mixed feelings as he [father] was not around to see his dream come true," she related.

However, injuries forced her to cut short her international career at a young age of 24, thereby making her look towards a new challenge in sport off the field. In 1995, El Moutawakel became a council member of the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and three years later, she became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

El Moutawakel was also the president of evaluation commissions for the selection of the host city for the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games in London and Rio de Janeiro respectively. "It is ironical that after more than 100 years of world track and field, we did not have a single woman representative on the International Olympic Committee (IOC). But I started a trend and after the most recent elections we have six elected women in the IAAF alone," she noted.

"My biggest challenge was to ensure that we overcome the isolation of women, and given my experience as an athlete, I wanted to ensure my experience benefited sports and women, in particular," she added.

Source:

http://gulfnews.com/sport/athletics/el-moutawakel-to-continue-flying-the-flag-1.917809

When a Photo Inspired by Sport Becomes an Image of Hope

2011-10-24T02:48:00.001+01:00

The Olympic Museum has announced the results of the HOPE photo competition launched in the spring of this year.
It was on the International Day of Peace that the winners of the HOPE photo competition organised by The Olympic Museum in Lausanne were announced. The jury was composed of David Burnett, the renowned international photo reporter who has been covering the Olympic Games since 1984; Sam Stourdzé, Director of the Musée de l’Elysée photographic museum in Lausanne; and David Herren, Head of the IOC’s Images Section.
The first prize was awarded to « sudiptopix », India for his photo "Womens' Empowerment", which shows a Muslim woman playing football in a park in Calcutta, India. The jury particularly appreciated this urban sporting scene, offering a vision of sport as a unifying element, bringing joy to those who play it and demolishing prejudices.
The second prize went to « And®e », Brazil. It was the emblematic element of the photo which the jury liked: diving into water, daring and striving for excellence. The image shows the moment of competition when everything is still possible.
The third prize was awarded to « tbalakshin », Canada for his photo entitled "Form". The jury admired the unusual view of this sports performance, which the photographer has transformed into a moment of poetry.
The competition winner will get to visit Lausanne, Olympic capital, as part of an exclusive four-day programme. He will also receive photographic equipment worth Euros 2,000. The second and the third winner will receive photographic equipment respectively worth Euros 1,000 and Euros 500.
The Olympic Museum thanks Worldwide TOP Partner Panasonic for supporting this competition by providing photo equipment for the three prizewinners.
For more information, please contact the IOC Media Relations Team:
Tel: +41 21 621 6000
Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/10/prweb8895640.htm

Young soccer player stands out for talent and beliefs

2011-10-24T02:12:00.001+01:00

By Mike Anderson
MURRAY — A Cottonwood High School student is taking dedication for her religion to the soccer field.
Serene Kergaye is a devout Muslim, and she loves soccer. When she's on the field, she often stands out because she follows a dress code of modesty.
"Yeah, I look kind of weird on the field," she said. "I'll be dressed head to toe in one color — because we have to be either white or black — but oh well, I'd rather play."
Of course from the sidelines, she tends to turn a few heads. "Definitely, they probably do a double take," girls soccer coach Angela Hamilton said. "She's different than any other girl on the field."
But that inner dedication to religion and sport goes way beyond what Kergaye wears. During Ramadan, Muslims fast each day, early all of August.
"I don't drink any water all day, from 5 a.m. til 9 p.m. It was hard," Kergaye said. "Usually I only have one game and one practice a week, but this year it was every day, 4 to 5 hours a day."
Pretty much, everybody thinks their religion's the religion. But, I think mine's right, so I'm gonna follow it. And I'm not gonna go halfway.
The coach is impressed with Kergaye's dedication. "It's really neat to see somebody that dedicated to something they believe in," Hamilton said, "and it does translate on to the field."
Her teammates agree. Ali Bromley-Dulfano said Kergaye puts a lot into her sport.
"She would come every day, and she would say stuff like, ‘I'm so excited for when I can eat again, cause I'm gonna take on all of you guys. I'm gonna take you down!' Bromley-Dulfano said laughing.
But Kergaye said that outward dedication is about more than following a dress code. She hoped that as people take notice, they'll start to understand Muslims better and look past the stereotypes.
"I think if they knew more Muslims and stuff, and knew that we're normal, we don't sit in our basement all day and make bombs," she said. "We play soccer. We play football. We're normal. (We) just wear more clothes."
Hamilton said Kergaye refuses to take it easy.
"Pretty much, everybody thinks their religion's the religion. But, I think mine's right, so I'm gonna follow it," Kergaye said. "And I'm not gonna go halfway."
Kergaye's parents were both born in the United States, and both come from a Muslim background. Their roots come from Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Switzerland.
Email: manderson@ksl.com

Unfoiled By Stereotypes

2011-10-23T20:34:00.001+01:00

Emel, Issue 85 October 2011
Ibtihaj Muhammad started fencing because it catered for her modest style of dress. Now, she stands at the edge of participating at the 2012 Olympics. Ali Khimji talks to her about what it takes to perform at the highest sporting level.
Fencing has always been perceived as a sport for the more privileged amongst society. But as an African-American, Muslim, female fencer, Ibtihaj Muhammad is challenging that norm. Undoubtedly due to represent the US at the 2012 Olympic Games, Ibtihaj excelled at the sport at an inner-city foundation, which seeks to mentor youth through sports.
“I played many sports when I was younger, including tennis, softball, and volleyball. My mother then discovered that our local high school had a fencing team. I joined the team when I was 13, grateful to find a sport where, as a Muslim woman, my desire to dress modestly would be fulfilled. Also, for the first time in any sport I had played, I would wear the same uniform as my teammates.”
Modern fencing evolved out of formalised sword duels and the French school of fencing in the 18th century. Fencers are categorised by the weapon that they use. The foil is a light and flexible weapon, and the target area is restricted to the opponent’s torso. The epee, another type of sword, was invented by a group of French students in the 19th century, who felt that the conventions of foil were too restrictive and that the weapon was too light. They wanted something closer to an actual duel. The epee is an exact copy of a small sword, and points are recorded for hits anywhere on the opponent’s body. However, touches are only scored when the point of the foil or epee hit the target areas. The sabre can score points by hitting with the edge, as well as the point, and the target area covers the whole upper body.
“For the first three years, I fenced epee. I had always been a good athlete, so naturally I was a decent epee fencer. When our fencing team had an opening on the sabre squad, my high school coach, Frank Mustilli, decided I would switch to sabre. I was reluctant at first, but in hindsight, I can say that switching to sabre was one of the best athletic decisions I have ever made. Without Frank practically forcing me into sabre, I don’t believe that I would still be fencing — certainly not at this advanced level.”
“Sabre is a lot more fast-paced than the other weapons. It is also a right of way weapon, which means that the fencer must take certain actions to score a point. It’s also a challenge because it requires agility, quick footwork and strategy.”
Ibtihaj went on to captain her high school fencing team and led them to win two New Jersey state team titles. She then enrolled at Duke University, where she graduated in 2007 with a double major in International Relations and African studies, and a minor in Arabic. However, her fencing ambitions did take a stumble during her studies. “Being a student athlete at a prestigious university was no easy feat; balancing athletics, academics and a social life was tough. I also struggled to fit in with the rest of the fencing team, as they were much less competitive than me, and average in their fencing ability.”
After graduating and moving back to New York City, Ibtihaj began training with Olympian and fellow graduate of the Peter Westbrook Foundation, Akhi Spencer-El. “Akhi has always believed in my athletic ability, and has helped me push my fencing to the next level. He is training me to fence tactically, infinitely improving my overall approach.”
Akhi’s training paid off, when in 2009, Ibtihaj won the US national title. A year later, she reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup event and then finished 14th in her world championship debut. Ibtihaj is currently ranked 13th in the world, and second in the United States. Only two women will compete in the sabre event at the 2012 London Olympics, and Ibtihaj has made a strong case to be included in that elite group.
As with any prospective Olympian, Ibtihaj has a strict training regime. She trains five to six times each week, often twice a day. Mornings are reserved for running or time with a personal trainer to work on her fitness, and evenings are spent working on her fencing skills.

Islam also plays a significant role in Ibtihaj’s life. “I have found Muslims in every city that fencing has brought me to. Whenever I travel, performing prayers is a way for me to keep up my remembrance of God, as well as keeping me grounded.”

“As an athlete, I have always found my most challenging opponent to be myself. Competitions are often lost from losing mental focus. I also constantly remind myself that I am able to handle anything that comes my way. I believe in the saying, ‘impossible is nothing’.”

Ibtihaj Muhammad has risen above the stereotypes of her chosen sport, and now has the opportunity to fence at the highest level possible. There is no doubt that with her level of dedication and hard work, she is sure to succeed on the global stage and fully embrace the opportunity to make history by being the first practising Muslim woman to represent the United States at the Olympics. “I want to prove that nothing should hinder our Muslim youth from reaching their goals – not race, religion or gender. I want to set an example that anything is possible with perseverance.”
Source: http://www.emel.com/article?id=90&a_id=2479

Carter: Maplewood woman could be first American Muslim to wear hijab while competing at Olympics

2011-10-23T20:25:00.000+01:00

By Barry Carter
Ibtihaj Muhammad jogs lightly across the second floor gym at the Manhattan Fencing Center in New York. She’s warming up, eager to get some work in.

Ready! Fence!
Fencers are already on the strip, a narrow fighting lane, and they’re going at it, the air filled with little razor-like hisses and whispers. Many are Olympic hopefuls, like her, preparing for the World Championships Saturday in Italy. The competition is another chance for Muhammad to earn qualifying points in her quest to make the 2012 London Olympics in July.
"I don’t think I ever wanted anything so much," said Muhammad, 25, of Maplewood. "I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can to make this Olympics."
When it’s her turn to spar, she slips the fencing mask over her hijab, the headscarf Muslim women wear. In a room full of fencers, it’s the one thing that makes her stand out. If she makes the Olympics, she’ll stand out even more. Fencing officials believe Muhammad is likely to be the first American Muslim woman wearing a hijab to compete at the games. The United States Olympic Committee doesn’t track athletes by religion, but the demographic is something Muhammad thinks about, knowing what an accomplishment it would be since few Muslim women compete in sports.
"I didn’t have female Muslim role models to look up to in the athletic world," she said. "It’s really important for people to know my story. I think it’s something I have to do, because I want Muslim female youth to believe they can do something like this."
Muhammad is ranked number two in the United States and 13th in the world in women’s sabre, a fencing style in which strikes are made above the waist with any part of the weapon. Locally, she represents the Peter Westbrook Foundation in New York City, training at the Fencers Club on West 28th Street, where she is coached by Akhnaten Spencer-El, a 2000 Olympic fencer. Under him, she’s a tactical, cerebral fighter who caught the fencing world off guard in 2009.
She won the U.S. national title that year, cracking the top 16 world rankings. Last year, she won a bronze medal at the Pan American Championships and a coveted spot on the U.S. women’s national team.
"She’s still young in the game and she’s only going to get better," Spencer-El said.
Back to the strip. She goes against a member of the U.S. men's national team, then her teammate, Dagmara Wozniak of Avenel. You can hear the constant ping of saber blades colliding. Everyone has cat-like footwork that is lickety-split quick, calculating and aggressive. They duel back and forth trying to outsmart each other, snapping their weapons at the wrist to score. The long electrical wires attached to the edge of their fencing jackets register hits. All of them look like puppets dancing on a string, lunging toward each other and their their shot at gold.
Getting to Italy isn’t easy. Each country is allowed two spots for women’s sabre and Muhammad and her teammates are the top four fencers in the U.S. The best of them is two-time Olympian Mariel Zagunis of Oregon, and she’s number one in the world.
Muhammad is unfazed. She trains daily, except for Sunday, running in the morning before conditioning at a women’s gym. In the evening, she’s in New York City fencing for four hours.
"I just keep going," she said. "I don’t want to get to a competition and lose a bout, because I didn’t work out that extra hour."
You can see she’s super-competitive, hating to lose, constantly critiquing herself. She’s all business for this once in lifetime shot, but Muhammad does pause for what’s important.
The third of five siblings in an athletic family, Muhammad finds strength in her faith. In August, she stayed focused through Ramadan, the annual Islamic month of fasting during the day. But Muhammad wants no sympathy, saying her sacrifices are not unlike anybody else’s. She kept hyrdrated, waking up every 90 minutes at night to eat and drink. If she makes the team, Muhammad will be used to the regimen since Ramadan next year falls during the Olympic competition.
It doesn’t matter at this point. Muhammad has come a long way in a career that started when she was a high school freshman. She stumbled on the sport driving past Columbia High School with her mother, who could see the team practicing through the large cafeteria windows. Inayah Muhammad didn’t know what they were doing but thought her daughter should try it because the uniform would cover her body and that was suitable to Islam’s tenet of modesty for women.
"I had know idea it (fencing) would take us this far,’’ said her mom, a Newark schoolteacher. "She’s so in love with the sport. I don’t think she really understands how good she is.’’
Muhummad was an epee fencer with Columbia until her former coach, Frank Mustilli, saw she was a better fit for sabre’s combative vein. At practice one day, Mustilli said his mild mannered athlete got upset after she got hit hard and lashed out.
"She showed me a little bit of fire. She screamed and attacked,’’ said Mustilli, head of the New Jersey Fencing Alliance.
At Columbia, Muhammad also played softball and volleyball but was captain of two state championship fencing teams before going to Duke University. She became a three-time NCAA All-American, earning dual degrees in International Relations and African-American studies with a minor in Arabic.
After graduation in 2007, her father, Shamsiddin Muhammad, said his daughter’s passion for fencing did not wane. The family supports her financially and she chipped in what she could last year as a substitute teacher at Shabazz High School in Newark and fencing coach at Columbia.
"I know this is her dream and inspiration,’’ said her dad, a retired Newark cop. "We believe that what is written is going to happen.’’
That belief helps her deal with distractions on this journey. At times she’s wondered if her race or religion played a role in a judge scoring unfairly. When traveling, she has been treated as a foreigner who can’t speak English, and worse, she feels the stares that say terrorist.
In Belgium this year, security officials told her to leave the airport unless she removed her hijab. Muhammad would not. Her mother interceded and there was a compromise to have her head patted down. Muhammad said it’s frustrating making others comfortable, but she’s not going to let "closeted views" derail her purpose.
"If God wants me to succeed, no one can take it from me,’’ she said. "That’s the way I approach it and I think that’s what keeps me sane and grounded in this sport.’’
Source: http://blog.nj.com/njv_barry_carter/2011/10/carter_maplewood_woman_could_b.html

Kheir blazing the trail as county’s top female cross country performer Read more: Hudson Reporter - SCOREBOARD 10 16 2011 Kheir blazing the trail as county’s top female cross country performer County Prep senior competing for Dickinson carries torch for Muslim runners

2011-10-23T20:15:00.000+01:00

by Jim Hague

Fawzia Kheir truly believed she was destined to become a basketball player. After all, her father, Ahmed, was a basketball player in his younger days.
“I tried a lot of sports when I was younger, but I really liked basketball because of my dad,” Fawzia Kheir said. “I was a good rebounder.”
But there was an aspect to the game of basketball that appealed to Fawzia.
“I liked running around,” Kheir said. “I started running the whole court all the time and I liked it. I just felt comfortable running.”
So when Kheir was attending P.S. 25 in Jersey City and eventually the new No. 7 Middle School in the Heights section, she decided to enter the Jersey City public school track and field championships.
“I won my first meet,” said Kheir, who won the 400-meter dash in her first grade school event. “I was in sixth grade. That was it. I was hooked. No more basketball.”
When the time came to attend high school, Kheir enrolled at County Prep, a member of the Hudson County Schools of Technology. She enrolled in a special pre-med curriculum and joined the track team at the school.
“I was able to run the 400 and 800 meters, but I never ran distances before,” Kheir said. “I had no idea what cross country was. When I first started, I couldn’t finish a mile and a half. I would get tired and stop running. But eventually, it got easier. I have to give Mr. [Tommy] Downes all the credit, because he’s the one who pushed me.”
In her first cross country meet, there was more instant success. Kheir won the St. Dominic Academy Invitational freshman race.
“I knew that I just loved running,” Kheir said. “It’s my favorite sport.”
Kheir had a distinction about her when she ran. Because of her devout Muslim faith, she is not permitted to expose any of her body while running. So Kheir has to compete while wearing long-sleeved compression shirts and long-legged pants. She also dons a full head scarf as well.
“People can’t believe how I can stand the heat when I run like that,” Kheir said. “I try not to think about it. When they ask, I just say it’s part of my religious beliefs. I’m used to people asking me now, because it’s happened over and over. But it does make a big difference and it can drag me down a little. It does get hot and it kills me in the summer time, but I tend to get through it.”
Kheir also has to endure the Muslim tradition of Ramadan, which requires Muslims to fast every day for a month until sundown that day.
“It’s really hard, but also I have to get used to it,” Kheir said. “I had to learn to keep myself hydrated before I ran, especially after I started to do so many miles. But I’m proud of my faith. It’s very important to me. I just decided that I’m not going to let anything stop me.”
Kheir had a fine cross country and track and field career at County Prep, setting all sorts of school records, when she had to endure another slice of adversity.
After Kheir’s sophomore year, the Hudson County Schools of Technology, namely High Tech in North Bergen and County Prep, where Kheir was already established, decided to eliminate their athletic programs.
“My first reaction was shock,” Kheir said. “I wondered where I would end up. I wondered what would happen to all my hard work. I knew I wouldn’t be running for the same school and not have the same teammates. I was really worried that it all might be over.”
A provision was installed where students of the Hudson County Schools of Technology could still compete in scholastic athletics, as long as it was with the school in their home district. Since Kheir resided in the Heights, it meant that she would have to compete for Dickinson.
“I never thought it would turn out like that,” Kheir said. “All I ever wanted to do was compete for my school, to show what I could do. I was really upset. It was actually torture at first, having to go from one school to the next, getting on I didn’t know this would happen.”
However, Dickinson girls’ cross country coach Antoinette Wilkins, a former track and field standout at the school, was ready to embrace Kheir.
“We were building a team and I knew we could use her,” said Wilkins, who earned All-County status for Dickinson in four events in 1985. “I knew she could help us.”
Wilkins was not worried about Kheir fitting in with her new Dickinson teammates.
“The other girls loved her,” Wilkins said. “She fit in really well. She comes from a great family and she’s very coachable. She listens to me well. The others accepted her right away. There were no comments about her faith. If you’re good, like she’s good, no one cares what you’re wearing. You can be wrapped in toilet paper and it wouldn’t matter, as long as she could run.”
And there’s no denying that Kheir can run. She was the Hudson County Track Coaches Association outdoor champion in the 400-meter dash last spring, but she was determined to do well in her final cross country season.
Last Saturday, Kheir went with her Dickinson teammates to compete in the Brett Taylor Invitational at Darlington Park in Mahwah. The Rams competed in the Varsity Girls’ A race and Kheir was third overall in 19:47, setting a new school record in the process.
“I was so happy to finally break 20 minutes,” Kheir said. “It’s my senior year and I want to be able to leave with great memories. I want to show everyone I can be a good runner and represent my school.”
Although she represents County Prep as a student and Dickinson as an athlete.
“I’m running for a new school and I’m used to it now,” Kheir said. “It was tough at first. It’s easier now. Having two coaches like Coach Wilkins and Coach Downes has really helped me. I want to be the one that everyone in the county has to look out for. I’m putting it all out there.”
“I think she’s peaking now,” Wilkins said. “She worked real hard in the summer and now she looks stronger and healthier than ever. We push her a lot, but she’s going to be fine. I’m quite sure that there were days that she hoped County Prep was able to keep their program. But she’s done well with the transition. I know it wasn’t easy for her, but she’s come along well.”
Kheir is hopeful to keep running right into college. She is looking to attend St. Peter’s College in the fall and study to become a physical therapist. There have been some bumps in the road, but Fawzia Kheir has survived.
“All I can say is that I guess I’m a pretty strong person,” Kheir said. “I just wanted to be the best runner I could be, regardless of everything else.”

Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.
You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com
Read more: Hudson Reporter - SCOREBOARD 10 16 2011 Kheir blazing the trail as county’s top female cross country performer County Prep senior competing for Dickinson carries torch for Muslim runners

Source: http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/16036588/article-SCOREBOARD-10-16-2011-Kheir-blazing-the-trail-as-county’s-top-female-cross-country-performer-County-Prep-senior--competing-for-Dickinson--carries-torch-for-Muslim-runners-?instance=jim_lead_story_left_column

Death Threats Fail to Stop Women’s Basketball

2011-10-23T19:47:00.001+01:00

By Shafi’i Mohyaddin Abokar

MOGADISHU, Oct 18, 2011 (IPS) - When Al-Shabaab militants called the Somali national women’s basketball team captain, Suweys Ali Jama, and told her she had two options: to be killed or to stop playing basketball, she decided that neither was really an option at all.

"I will only die when my life runs out – no one can kill me but Allah … I will never stop my profession while I am still alive," Jama told IPS.

"Now, I am a player, but even if I retire I hope to be a coach - I will stop basketball only when I perish," Jama said.

The Al-Qaeda-linked military group controls large parts of Somalia and occupied almost half of the country’s capital, Mogadishu, until its surprise withdrawal on Aug. 6. However, the group’s presence in the city remains as Al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack on the capital on Oct. 4, which killed at least 70 people.

Now Jama and members of her team have received death threats from the Islamic militant group, which views women’s participation in sport as "un-Islamic".

In August 2006 the Somali Islamic Courts Union (ICU), a group of Sharia courts, issued an order banning Somali women from playing sport calling it the "heritage of old Christian cultures." At the time the ICU controlled Mogadishu, but lost control of the city in December 2006.

Al-Shabaab, which was the armed wing of the ICU, has not altered their stance on women playing sport.

Aisha Mohamed, the deputy captain of the national women’s basketball team, said the militants also threatened her.

"‘You are twice guilty. First, you are a woman and you are playing sports, which the Islamic rule has banned. Second, you are representing the military club who are puppets for the infidels. So we are targeting you wherever you are,’ Islamists warned me during phone calls. But I am still clinging to my profession," Mohamed told IPS.

Mohamed is one of the prominent national team members who belong to the Somali military sports club, Horseed. Mohamed’s mother is a former member of the women’s national team and she has been playing the sport since she was a child.

Basketball is the second-most popular sport in Somalia after football and, aside from handball, is the only other sport that Somali women play. However, women earn meager salaries as professional basketball players.

"I am a human being and I fear, but I know that only Allah can kill me," 21-year-old Mohamed said echoing Jama’s sentiments.

So the team is training for December’s Arab Games in Qatar inside the safety of the bullet-ridden walls of the Somali police academy’s basketball court.

On a day with a clear blue sky overhead the women, dressed in loose fitting tracksuits and T-shirts and wearing headscarves, sprint from one end of the court to another amid the presence of hundreds of policemen.

When they are done they line up to take shots at the basketball hoop. All week they train for two hours a day here and only take off on Thursdays and Fridays – the Muslim weekend.

In the evening when the women leave the safety of the training base they swap their training gear for the anonymity of the traditional Islamic dress and veil. They also wear a Yashmak, a small piece of cloth to cover their faces.

Somalia’s first women’s national basketball team was formed in 1970 and participated in African and regional competitions over the years despite never winning a tournament, according to the National Olympic Committee President Aden Hajji Yeberow.

But the 2006 ban on women playing sports halted the growth of women’s basketball in this East African nation said Somali Basketball Federation Deputy Secretary-General Abdi Abdulle Ahmed.

"The Islamist ban led to some women (quitting the sport), because of fear," Ahmed told IPS.

President of the Somali Basketball Federation Hussein Ibrahim Ali said that whenever women’s involvement in basketball grows, something occurs to set the sport back.

The 2006 Islamist ban, which lead to nearly two hundred women quitting the sport because of fear of reprisals, was one such incident. The two decades of civil war in the country, was another. Since mid- July a severe drought has affected the country, with famine declared in regions of southern Somalia.

Ali added that lack of sponsorship and insecurity were the biggest killers of sport in Somalia.

"So when the world knows that Somalia has undergone such hardships and our women are playing in an international tournament, this would really be great publicity for the whole country and, in particular, for the basketball federation," Ali said.

The women’s coach Ali Sheik Muktar said that he is hopeful that his team will be successful in the upcoming Arab Games.

"To have a women’s team means a lot to Somalia," Ali said.
Source: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=105501

Khadijah Safari, Black Belt 3rd Dan Muay Thai (kickboxing)

2011-10-05T15:04:00.003+01:00

By Khadijah Safari

Trained by her husband, former European Champion Master Karim Safari, Khadijah has progressed on to teach other women the sport which has provided London’s women with the most energetic workout you could imagine! Her strictly women’s only gym allows the sister’s scarves to come off and the determined women let off steam just as much as anyone else. There are no barriers at her Strictly Ladies Safari Gym. We asked Khadijah Safari to tell us what inspired her to take this path in martial arts and what her plans are in the future.

“I started training 11 years ago, I found a local club and fell in love with the sport 2 days later when I could hardly walk after the intense work out! Once I’d started training I knew that I wasn’t going to stop until I’d achieved my black belt and I knew full well that I had a pretty good chance of taking down someone that came to attack me, no matter their size. I have been so blessed to be able to pass this knowledge on to other women, primarily for fitness and self defense, but also as a great sport which is becoming more and more popular worldwide. The ladies who you see gracefully walking down the street, covered head to toe in traditional Muslim wear, have a whole different angle with a pair of boxing gloves on. These are the most determined and dedicated students that I have, training hard to improve their skills so that one day they can pass this knowledge on to others. Healthy living and self defence are both extremely important area’s which I believe all women should focus on. Sister’s walk into a class for the first time, expecting the worse, and walk out asking when they can come back next! From reporters, lawyers, doctors, students, to sisters who have been victims of abuse or crime, Muay Thai is a sport that anyone can learn, you just have to try!”

Khadijah’s dream is to be able to enter Muay Thai as an women’s Olympic sport, the UK is currently working on providing the right governing body to be accepted by Sport England, and then there’s no reason why not! With inter club tournaments and the interest spreading inside and outside London, Khadijah wishes she could be in 10 places at one, she told us, “I have sisters calling me from Doncaster, Oxford, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes and all across London asking me to please open up sessions near them, they promise they’d work really hard”.

Khadijah hopes to be able to train more instructors so that more women can enjoy and experience the fun of martial arts, and in the meantime, likes to spend her spare time in the ring with her husband, although there’s a major weight difference (heavy weight vs. Super light weight) she gives him a good workout and doesn’t let him get away easily.

For information about the sport, and Khadijah Safari’s classes, visitwww.ladiesonlykickboxing.co.uk or contact her directly 07880 550011 safarikickboxing@googlemail.com

An Invitation for Danish Muslim Sporty Women

2011-09-02T14:24:00.001+01:00

Kære Stjerner og frivillige

Projekt Stjernerne fra Vollsmose er blevet en stor succes. I har gennemført et længerevarigt træningsprogram og har cyklet Fyn rundt på blot 5 dage. Vi ønsker nu at fremlægge resultaterne for samarbejdspartnerne, Stjernerne + jeres forældre og de frivillige.

I, og jeres familie er derfor inviteret til en fælles aftensmiddag fredag d.16.sept.11 kl. 16.30 i Kulturhuset i Vollsmose. Her kommer vi til at fremlægger projektets resultater og dele diplomer ud til jer.

Pga planlægning bedes i melde tilbage senest d. 05. sept. hvor mange i kommer.

mail til: safaa_abdol@hotmail.com eller ring på: 46 40 07 41

Vi ser frem til at se dig.

Photo: From Inaam Abou Khadra

_________________________________________________________

Programmet for dagen:

16.30 Velkomst. /v. Projektleder Safaa Abdol-Hamid

16.40 Åbningstale /v. Borgmester Anker Boye

16.50 Fremlæggelse af Max-test resultaterne. /v. Institut for idræt og biomekanik, Syddansk universitet Niels Christian

17.00 Derfor støtter Odense Kommune Stjernerne fra Vollsmose /v. Odense kommune, Cyklisternes By Elsebeth Gedde og Connie Juul

17.10 Den sociale udvikling og betydningen af dette i boligsociale områder. /v. beboerkonsulent Asmaa Abdol-Hamid

17.20 Videofilm

17.30 Diplomoverrækkelse til Stjernerne /v. Borgmester Anker Boye

18.05 Buffet

19.30 Farvel og tak

Source: http://www.stjernernefravollsmose.dk/#myAnchor

"I'm probably the only one who has run Copenhagen Marathon with a veil"

2011-09-02T14:20:00.000+01:00

Direct copy of google translation from Danish

She's spent. Well used. When she crossed the line at Islands Brygge after 5 hours and 50 minutes. But she is also proud because she was the only woman with an immigrant background and the veil did must. With only two months of training.

"I come from 'bog' (Vollsmose in Odense), and there are not many immigrants traveling with the veil there. And 42 km, at least they did not run, "said Inaam Abou-Khadra, who read Political Science at SDU in Odense.

"People think it must be mighty hot and uncomfortable, and yes, I will run more clothes than other women, but you will find the out what works for one. So the problem is not practical, it is probably more a question that many ethnic did not think of race as a sport for them. "

Pat on the back

The Nykredit Copenhagen Marathon, she has only marked positive response.

"People have patted me on the shoulder, and said that it was well done."

Inaam Abou-Khadra got even a taste for the more extreme as some girlfriends last year lured her out and bike around Denmark. 'Completely crazy', she says.

Towards new horizons

But next year she wants to ride with Team Rynkeby to Paris.

And she will have her sisters to pedaling. She is involved in a voluntary project in 'bog' where 10-15 year olds to go out and cycling to lose weight.

"It's the way to health, both for ordinary Danes and immigrants'.

Source: http://politiken.dk/tjek/sundhedogmotion/motion/ECE1288849/jeg-er-nok-den-eneste-der-har-loebet-copenhagen-marathon-med-sloer/

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