UAE women win Excellence Shield

By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter from Gulf News

• A UAE player (in green) attempts to spike the ball as a Bahraini player tries to block it during the volleyball final at the GCC Women’s Games in Abu Dhabi. Image Credit: Abdel-Krim Kallouche/Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: The UAE won the Excellence Shield of the Second GCC Women's Games after winning the most medals in the 7 sports which were contested in the tournament with 12 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze medals.

Bahrain came second with 8 gold, 8 silver and as many bronze followed by Qatar with 5 gold, 9 silver and 8 bronze, then Kuwait with 4 gold, 6 silver and 8 bronze while Oman finished fifth with one gold, one silver and 4 bronze.

The UAE teams dedicated the Excellence Shield to Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, the Supreme Chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union and the Patron of the Games, for her continuous support to the women in all fields of life in general and in the sports field in particular in a gesture of gratitude and thanks.

Noura Khalifa Al Suwaidi, the Chairperson of the local Organising Committee, expressed her pleasure with the achievement of the UAE teams in the Games and said, "This victory would not has been achieved if it wasn't for the continuous and unlimited support of Shaikha Fatima to the women not only in the UAE but in the GCC states as well as we have seen the improvement in the teams recently and since the first Games two years ago.

"We, organisers, officials and players, dedicate this victory to Shaikha Fatima in recognition of her support and encouragement and we promise that we will achieve more brilliant results in the future in all levels, regional, continental and international," she said.

The last day of the Games witnessed the end of the athletics competitions which were dominated by Bahrain with Mariam Al Ansari winning the long jump event registering 5.16 metres followed by Riam Allen Thomas from Qatar in second place with 5.16 metres and Nour Ebrahim from Bahrain with 5.11 metres.

Bahrain added the gold of the Discus with Basma Mohammad throw of 32.78 metres leaving the silver medal to Shahd Salah, from Kuwait, with 24.53 and the bronze to Buthaina Nabil from Qatar with 24.49.

Oman won their only gold medal in the Games when Shannona Al Hibsi finished first in the 200 metres race in 26.4 seconds followed by Noura Al Malki of Qatar, in second place in 26.6 seconds and Fatima Amr from Bahrain who came third in 27.7 seconds.

UAE's Alya Saeed won her second gold medal in athletics as she finished first in the 800 metres race in 2.15 minutes followed by Nada Nabil from Qatar in 2.34 and Shahd Jasem from the UAE in 2.43.

The competitions came to an end with the 4x400 metre relay which was won by Qatar in 52.3 seconds with Bahrain in second with 52.5 as the UAE won the bronze in 55.9 seconds.

Source: http://gulfnews.com/sport/other-sports/uae-women-win-excellence-shield-1.775395

UAE get off to impressive start in Games volleyball

• Defending champions UAE in action against Oman in GCC Women’s Games volleyball at the Al Jazeera Indoor Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The hosts cruised to victory. Image Credit: Ahmed Kutty/Gulf News

By Yasir Abbasher, Senior Reporter

Abu Dhabi: The UAE team look set to defend the volleyball title they won in the first GCC Women's Games in Kuwait two years ago as they trounced Oman 2-0 at the Al Jazira Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

The UAE dominated the match, winning 25-10, 25-9, with good striking, solid defending and accurate service.

The team was represented by Fatima Hassan, the captain, Alya Nasir, Abrar Ali, Nadia Ali, Samiha Hassan, Fatima Mohammad, Rawiya Mubarak, Muna Abbass, Sana'a Aref, Kolaithim Rahma and Muna Haider.

In the first match of the opening day, Kuwait beat Bahrain 2-1 (22-25, 28-26, 25-18) in an encounter that lasted more than 90 minutes.

In the final day of competition, Oman will face Kuwait while Bahrain will play against the UAE.

Meanwhile, Haya Sameer added another gold medal to the UAE haul after winning the 53kg taekwondo competition in the GCC Women's Games held under the patronage of Her Highness Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union and patron of the Games.

Haya was followed by Kothom Mubarak from Qatar who won the silver, while Zuwaina Abdullah from Oman and Noura Adil from Bahrain shared the bronze.

• Shaikha Maitha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, captain of the UAE taekwondo team, won the gold in the Open Category of the over 73-kg in the GCC Women's Games in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. Shaikha Maitha was in a class of her own against Oman's Niven Khalfan, winning 12-4 in her first bout, before defeating Kuwaiti champion Hamayel Gazi Al Yagoot 6-1. Image Credit: Abdul Rahman/Gulf News

Support

"I dedicate this victory and the gold medal to Shaikha Fatima and to Shaikha Maytha Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for their unlimited and continuous support.

"I was confident of winning the gold medal because we are well prepared for the competition in addition to the fact that the presence and support of Shaikha Maytha was a motive to all of the UAE players to excel and do their best in the competitions.

"I believe such competitions will encourage more women to practice the game and will lead to its spread and improvement in the region."

Dina Eid Mahbout from Bahrain won the gold medal in the 46kg category, with the UAE's Al Ghaliya Askar winning the silver and Aisha Salem from Qatar taking the bronze.

Dina Al Mansouri from Qatar won the 62kg category leaving the silver to Anood Al Malkawy from Kuwait and the bronze went to Muneera Al Ka'abi from the UAE.

Sameer Juma, the coach of the UAE team, said: "I am happy with this performance because it is the first participation for our players in the taekwondo competitions."

Source: http://gulfnews.com/sport/athletics/uae-get-off-to-impressive-start-in-games-volleyball-1.774506

MW Sports Interview Series Begin With Prof Homa Hoodfar

MW Sports is honored to begin the new project, "MW Sports Interview Series" with Prof. Homa Hoodfar

Who is Homa Hoodfar? Prof Hoodfar is an anthropology professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada and is the coordinator of the Iran Module of the Women and Law programme of Women Living Under Muslim Laws Network.Hoodfar has conducted field research on development and social change issues in Egypt and Iran, with an emphasis on gender, households, work and international migration in the Middle East. Further key research areas are women and Islam, and codification of Muslim family laws in the Middle East, Muslim dress code in diaspora, and the impact of long term forced migration on family structure and gender relations on Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan. She is an activist feminist and a prominent anthropologist working on issues related to empowerment of women in Muslim world, with geographic focus on Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt. 

• MW Sports: Prof. Hoodfar, Thank you for joining this interview project. It is very precious to begin our interview series with you, as you are the pioneering mentor of MW Sports Blog. How have you become interested in Sports in the lives of Muslim women? Why sports?

• MW Sports: Is your interest related to your feminist concerns regarding the empowerment of women in the Middle East?

• MW Sports: Iranian women started becoming very active in sports. Their participation is particularly influencing the success of their country in international games as well. How do you explain the interest?

• MW Sports: You have organized a symposium three years ago in Montreal, during which we first worked together. It was very welcomed by Western public. Why have you decided to organize a conference focusing specifically on Muslim women in sports? Have you achieved your goals?

• MW Sports: What are your future plans?

This first interview is also submitted to Dr Sara Shneiderman, as visual anthropology project for my PhD program in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge - Sertaç Sehlikoglu.

The Short biography of Prof Hoodfar is taken from http://www.muslimreviewonline.net/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Hoodfar,_Homa 

Turkish Female Cirit Players are Seeking for Support

 

The women of the Uşak Women’s Equestrian Sports Club’s cirit team are training regularly for the coming Spring Festival in Uşak’s Ulubey district. As the only women's cirit team in Turkey, they are facing with several challenges, may of which are related to financial issues. Coach Aysun Yilmaz says that her team members have to borrow horses from their friends for the training. She adds that they are hopeful to find another female cirit team to compete against one day, as they can only compete with male cirit teams, since they are the single female group interested in this traditional sport in Turkey. The team consists of women, aged from 20 to 30, who have learned this sport from their families when they were very young. They say that they feel liberated while riding horse. 

Turkish Young Female Wrestlers are Competing in Izmir

124 athletes from 22 different cities of Turkey will be competing in 10 divisions of wrestling. Maximum number of athletes attended the game was from Izmir, partly because of the limited funding for transportation from other cities for the championship. The champions will be announced today, after the final games. 

Muslim Women in SPORTS Launches its Logo

Multiple voices: improving participation of Muslim girls in physical education and school sport

Authors: Symeon Dagkas^a; Tansin Benn^a; Haifaa Jawad^b

Abstract This study reports on data from a larger-scale research project in one city in the West Midlands, England. The study was commissioned by the local education authority because of the rising incidence of parental withdrawal of Muslim girls from physical education. The aim was to provide evidence-based guidance to schools on improving the inclusion of Muslim girls in physical education and school sport. In-depth interviews in eight case study schools provided a thick description of the lived realities for 19 head teachers and teachers, 109 young people and 32 of their parents. Four additional focus group interviews were held with 36 Muslim young people in community/supplementary schools. Questionnaires were sent to 402 city schools and 12 supplementary schools (50 of which were returned). Methods focused on capturing views on experiences and concerns regarding the inclusion of Muslim girls in physical education. Content analysis and inductive and deductive analyses of data procedures were used. Responses indicated a diversity of positive and negative experiences across the community, with the majority of young people enjoying their school-based physical education lessons. Parental influences were strong across the age phases. Body and religious consciousness increased during adolescence. Common concerns centred on the need to improve recognition of religious requirements in schooling processes, policies and practices to provide inclusive learning environments for some Muslim young people. Problems such as poor communication, inflexible dress codes—particularly concerning wearing of the hijab (headscarf)—gender organisation and use of public swimming pools were identified. Patterns of good practice also emerged from across schools. Flexibility of approach, shared decision-making and situation-specific policies were most successful for supporting the inclusion of Muslim girls in physical education and school sport. Findings informed policy-orientated guidance for city schools.

Keywords: Muslim girls; Islam; Physical education; Religiosity; Culture Affiliations: a School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birminghom, UK b School of Philosopy, Theology and Religion, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK Published in: Sport, Education and Society, Volume 16, Issue 2 March 2011 , pages 223 - 239 Full Article on:

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a933523013~db=all~jumptype=rss

El Moutawakel: Middle East female athletes will come to the fore

Nawal El Moutawakel

Olympic 400m hurdle champion Nawal El Moutawakel believes female athletes in the Middle East have a bright future.

Moroccan El Moutawakel became a household name in 1984 when she won gold at the Los Angeles games, the first African-born Muslim woman to do so.

She picked up the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Laureus ceremony 12 months ago, and was convinced to join the Academy when confronted by the list of fellow members that she still considers to be “heroes”.

After watching Saudi Arabia’s Dalma Rushdi H Malhas scoop Equestrian bronze at the Youth Summer Games in Singapore last year, she believes this region will soon produce another Ghada Shouaa, the heptathlete who won gold for Syria at the 1995 World Championships.

“To see a young girl from Saudi Arabia on the podium in Equestrian, was phenomenal to us, to me,” she said.

“I was in there watching it, I started crying and broke into tears because for me it was a very special moment to see a powerful woman coming from the Gulf states to say ‘hey, I can win’.

“The future of this region is feminine. We have seen women reaching all kinds of levels in administration, as a minister, even pilot, lawyer, judges and everything. And we will see women becoming Olympic champions and world champions.

“Success can be achieved. More and more there is a strong participation of women from this region maybe it’s still shy but there is a presence.”

The former athlete was still a student when she shot to fame in Los Angeles, so she knows more than most the life-changing affects sport can have.

“A couple of years ago I was just a tiny, shy little girl from Morocco who wanted to run but I never knew I could perform one day and here I am enjoying the benefits that were given to me by sport,” she added.

“Sport has a great impact on any kind of humankind. It impacts your life for… life, forever.”

By Staff Reporter of Sport 360. http://www.sport360.com/component/content/article/102-breaking-news/33821-runner

Increasing the focus on minority ethnic women and girls' sport - UK

Rimla Akhtar, Chairperson of the Muslim Women's Sport Foundation on the challenges and achievements of her organisation.

Sport is and always has been a powerful means of uniting people and overcoming prejudices, particularly those against minority communities. It can come in many forms and not just the traditional ones. Women's sport has seen a massive development over the years and women and girls across the country are embracing less traditional sports and activities such as dance, basketball and yoga.

The Muslim Women's Sport Foundation (MWSF) was set up in 2001 with the main aim of providing equal opportunities and access to sport for Muslim women who are severely underrepresented across the board when it comes to sport.

Rimla Akhtar was recently presented with the Kick it Out Grassroots award. 

The organisation also forms the British Muslim Women's Squad for the Women's Islamic Games which are held in Tehran every four years in an Olympics style tournament. I joined the futsal team in 2001, playing in the Games that year and then had the honour of captaining the team in 2005. When we returned from the Games in 2005, my friend and vice captain Ayesha Abdeen and I became Chair and Vice Chair of the MWSF, respectively. Over the past five years we've worked to increase the accessibility of sports facilities and opportunities to play and compete. More recently we've focused on sports education through providing coaching and refereeing courses and reaching out to schools to provide their girls with a positive experience of sport.

Addressing under-representation head on

Through working closely with National Governing Bodies for sports and with other sporting organisations, such as Sporting Equals, we've been able to help increase the focus on minority ethnic women and girls' sport.

The work we do is not just for Muslim women but for all women, girls and men from ethnic minority communities. By realising the unique needs of people from these communities, there are great opportunities to refresh the sporting strategies for participation and to generate success in the long term whilst also bringing energy, creativity and dynamism to the way the strategies are implemented.

You can read the rest of the post from Rimla Akhtar's blog: http://blogs.culture.gov.uk/main/2011/01/post_6.html

Judo Sessions in UK Sponsored by Bolton Wanderers Community Trust

MUSLIM girls in Bolton (UK)  are to feature on Match of the Day — learning the art of judo!

Bolton Wanderers Community Trust (BWCT) has been running the sessions at Bolton Muslim Girls School for the last two months, and the success of the scheme has now caught the attention of one of TV’s longestrunning football programmes.

The girls are set to make their debuts on Match of the Day next week after BBC cameras visited the school.

Wanderers stars Fabrice Muamba and David Wheater, as well as British judo champ Sarah Clark, were also there to support the project.

PE teacher Anika Tariq said: “Sport here has come a long, long way.

“But the Premier League has helped in terms of funding.

“Sport for our girls isn’t always seen as a priority outside of school for parents so for them to get this opportunity in school is great.

“They really enjoy judo.

It was a sport they hadn’t tried before but they have really taken to it.”

Sport England research has shown that Muslim women are “significantly less likely” to take up exercise compared to other groups.

BWCT identified the school as being an ideal place to start the project.

But now, the popularity of the sport with the girls means a local judo club is now in the process of being set up.

After a short time on the sidelines, watching the girls in action, the two Whites players took to the floor to try out a few of the moves themselves.

Wanderers’ latest signing David Wheater said: “It’s nice to come and do stuff like this away from football.

“It’s a decent gym here and it was good fun having a go.

“I maybe wish I’d tried some other sports like this when I was younger, but I was pretty single minded about playing football.”

Muamba added: “It has been good to see the girls getting involved in judo.

“It is a great sport and this project is good for the community and it is good for their health as well.”

But while the girls were thrilled to see the two Wanderers’ stars, it was judo champion Sarah Clark who really bowled them over.

Sarah said: “It has been excellent to meet these girls.

“This is something they have not had the opportunity to do in the past and you can see how much they enjoy it.

“They get involved and they are quite physical, which is great to see.”

Bolton Muslim Girls School can be seen on the repeat version of Match of the Day on Sunday morning.

Source: http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/districtnews/8822178.Here_come_the_girls_to_star_on_Match_of_the_Day/

Sports' Totally Unnecessary Hijab Drama

By Sara Yasin

Recently, Maryland seventh-grader Maheen Haq was forced to sit out during the first half of her basketball game, after league officials cited concerns over her hijab as a safety hazard.

A safe sports scarf designed by Elham Seyed Javad

She was eventually allowed to play in the second half, after her parents explained that she was covered for religious reasons, and that they would take full responsibility for any injuries that she might sustain as a result of wearing it. According to Jim Shannon, former coordinator of the league, the official citing concerns about Haq was worried about the potential for neck injury.

This isn't the first time such a thing has happened. In 2007, an 11 year -old girl was prevented from playing in an indoor soccer tournament in Quebec for similar reasons. The referee told Asmahan Mansour that her hijab was a safety hazard, and thus she wouldn't be allowed to play while wearing it.

Design for tennis by Cindy Van Den Breman (Capsters)

I spent my awkward middle school years at an Islamic school, where my classmates and I preferred to wear loose and large hijabs, fastened with a safety pin at the neck as a part of our school uniforms. Potential hazards of playing sports in hijab were not to be trivialized. I regularly found ways to trap my long hijab in doors and furniture. In the hormonal hellhole that is an all-girls gym class, the hijabs that we wore were regularly used in catty warfare, caused us to overheat in an ever-sweltering North Carolina climate and sometimes prevented us from playing sports properly. Our problem wasn't covering, but rather how we were doing it. And identifying the hijab as a hazard is not the question; it can present safety problems when not worn properly during sports. But the real frustration lies in how it is addressed.

Design for aerobics by Cindy Van Den Breman (Capsters)

Identifying the hijab as a hazard is not an issue, but frustration lies in how it is addressed. At local skating rinks in my hometown, my friends in hijab were regularly kept from skating without a helmet, yet I was still allowed to skate in my obstructive JNCO jeans, showing that safety standards were not only being violated by religion, but also by other changing factors, like fashion. However, in these conversations the hijab as a hazard was the bottom line, rather than a point to initiate discussion. I think this is a large part of the problem.

Most safety-related problems can be easily remedied by finding the appropriate style for a particular activity. There are many different styles of hijab available, especially in recent years, including those that are more suitable for the needs of athletes. A Dutch woman named Cindy van den Bremen developed the "Capster", which fits snugly around the head, allowing a woman to remain covered while staying cool and safe. While ideal for athletic use, many non-sports related companies and organisations have approached Cindy to help create hijabs conforming to their respective health and safety policies. It would be easy to incorporate into any uniform.

Much like the Capster, there are other (cheaper) ways to help ease concerns over safety. After one too many incidents involving aggressively pulling each other's hijabs during games of flag football, our school made a smaller version of the Amira-style hijab a part of our gym uniform. Much like the Capster, it snugly fits around the head, and is not fastened with a safety pin. While not as flattering as the Capster, it would not hurt if ripped off, and it does not interfere with athletic performance. Similarly, there are also ‘tear away' options. This is a problem easily solved, but only with willingness to research and dialogue.

While there are some pretty accessible solutions out there, the point is that none of them can be used unless administrators are open to them. It is important for the league to focus on the best and safest way to keep Haq playing basketball, rather than focus on shying away from controversy. It is important to have conversations about ways that organizations can include young Muslim female athletes AND keep them safe. To focus on a choice between covering and sports may prevent these young women from playing at all. I had many peers that felt excluded from trying out for sports teams because of stringent uniform requirements, including non-Muslims. Surely, both comfort and safety would be central components to maximizing the benefits of team sports. I hope that these solutions are involved in the conversation between league leaders and Haq's parents.

The author of this post can be contacted at tips@jezebel.com

Read more: http://jezebel.com/5740119/sports-totally-unnecessary-hijab-drama#ixzz1C24oer9M
Source: http://jezebel.com/5740119/sports-totally-unnecessary-hijab-drama