Iranian swimmer Elham Asghari: 'My 20km record has been held hostage'

By Saeed Kamali Dehghan

On a Tuesday morning in June, Elham Asghari stepped into the tidal waters of the chilly Caspian sea in northern Iran to swim 20km in full Islamic dress. But her record-breaking nine-hour feat has not been recognised by national authorities because she is a woman.

"Although I [stuck to] the full Islamic dress code and had swimmingofficials present at all times, [the authorities] said no matter how Islamic my swimming gear, it was unacceptable," she told the Guardian. "They said the feminine features of my body were showing as I came out of water."

Swimming in open waters had been Asghari's childhood dream. To achieve her goal, she looked for training programmes on the internet and came up with the idea of designing a special swimsuit – a full hijab, covering her body from head to toe. It adds some 6kg to her weight in water and, she says, it is painful to wear.

Last month, although she broke her previous national swimming record, Iranian authorities refused to recognise her achievement.

In frustration Asghari posted a video of herself online with the help of her manager, Farvartish Rezvaniyeh, who decided to help publicise her plight when he heard about it on Facebook. "I could not believe this injustice was happening to a record-breaking champion. I contacted her … and we made the video," he said.

The footage, which includes the 32-year-old swimming in her Islamic swimsuit and appealing to her fellow Iranians for support, quickly caught the attention of thousands of people who shared the video clip on social networks. Tributes poured in as more people became aware of her cause.

In the video, posted on YouTube and viewed by at least 120,000 people, Asghari promises not to give in to pressure. "No swimmer will ever accept to swim with such swimsuits; swimming with these swimsuits always hurts my body," she says in a voiceover as she is seen swimming in a pool.

"I swam 20km in [the northern city of] Nowshahr, they lowered it to 15km. I protested and they accepted 18km. Yet now, they do not register the record.

"My 20km record has been held hostage in the hands of people who cannot even swim a distance of 20 metres. I have passed tough days and nights. This incident is unbelievable for me. I will not give in to pressure. Swimming is not exclusively for men – we ladies do well too."

Women in Iran can use public swimming pools at gender-segregated times, or women-only sections, but sports officials are reluctant to allow them into open waters. "They fear that if they recognise my record then they would unwittingly approve my swimming gear and that would eventually give women swimmers access to open waters," Asghari said.

She started swimming aged five, she said. "Sometimes I feel I am an amphibian, capable of living both on land and in water. In a 24-hour [period], I spend as much time on land that I spent in water. My father was a veteran wrestler … it was him who encouraged me to register my records."

In a previous open-water race near the southern island of Kish, Asghari said police boats tried to stop her in a dramatic sequence of events that led to her leg and hip being sliced by the vessel's propellers.

After battling various gender-related obstacles during PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad's eight years in office, Asghari has pinned her hopes for change on the newly elected leader, Hassan Rouhani, who will be sworn in in August. "I hope that in President Rouhani's government, these people [hindering my career] will have no place. I will definitely follow up the case about my swimming record [when he takes office]."

Iran prevents female swimmers from participating in overseas competitions. The Women's Islamic Games in Tehran is one of the few international events where domestic swimmers are permitted to take part.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/05/iranian-swimmer-elham-asghari 

Azerbaijan to host Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017

By Nigar Orujova

The eighth elective general assembly of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has decided to hold the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games in Azerbaijan in 2017, the Azerbaijani National Olympic Committee said on July 24.

The ISSF member states voted for holding the Islamic Solidarity Games 2017 in Azerbaijan at the Assembly.

The Azerbaijani capital put forward its bid to host the tournament in February. The tournament is due from June 23 to July 2, 2017.

A presentation about Azerbaijan was made during the General Assembly by Vice President of NOC and ISSF Chingiz Huseynzade, head of the international relations department and executive director of the organizing committee of the Islamic Solidarity Games Baku-2017, Kenul Nurullayeva, and NOC expert on international programs and member of the working group of the Islamic Solidarity Games Mehman Kerimov, according to the NOC.

As part of the General Assembly the "Baku-2017" book was presented. The book includes sections on the concept of the Games, a review of the political and economic situation, legal aspects, customs and immigration aspects, information about the environment and meteorology, finance, marketing, communications, sports facilities and competitions, residential areas, transportation, security, medical services and doping control.

A special video on the Islamic games was demonstrated to the participants and relevant booklets were distributed.

New staff of the ISSF for 2013-2017 was also determined during the event. Thus, Chingiz Huseynzade was re-elected as a vice-president of the organization for the next four years.

Kenul Nurullayeva became a member of the executive committee. This landmark decision on the membership of a woman in the ISSF executive committee was made for the first time since 1968, on the basis of structural changes.

Azerbaijan became the only country represented in the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation by two representatives.

Moreover, it was decided to hold the General Assembly of the ISSF in Baku in 2015.

In May in Baku, ISSF Secretary General Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al-Nassar said that the evaluation commission for the Games believes that Baku has all the suitable conditions for hosting the fourth Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017.

The Games, which will bring together athletes from 57 countries, will be held under the slogan "Solidarity is our power". More than 160 Azerbaijani sportsmen will participate in the Games. The Muslim religion of all athletes is not a pre-condition for participation in the competition.

The Islamic Solidarity Games is a multinational, multi-sport event involving the elite athletes of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the UN with 57 member states spread over four continents.

The first of the ISG tournaments was held in 2005 in Saudi Arabia with an Olympic-style tournament aimed at showing Muslim sports prowess and featuring 6,000 athletes.

Azerbaijan gained four gold, four silver and seven bronze medals at the first ISG, thus becoming the eighth country in the medal table.

The second event, originally scheduled to take place in October 2009 in Iran, and later re-scheduled for April 2010, was cancelled after a dispute emerged between Iran and the Arab countries. The third Games will be held in Indonesia this year.

Source: http://www.azernews.az/sports/57300.html

Libya's women's football team banned from major tournament

By Chris Stephen

Rights groups say the problems facing Libya’s women footballers are part of a larger struggle over women's rights. Photograph: Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images

Libya's international woman's football team, already under threat from religious extremists, has been banned from taking part in a major tournament next week by the country's sporting authorities.

In a move likely to raise questions about its commitment to equal rights, Libya's football association told the team it cannot fly to Germany on Saturday, citing concerns that it takes place within the holy month of Ramadan.

"The federation said you cannot play in Germany because of the need for fasting," said midfielder Hadhoum el-Alabed. "We want to go but they say you cannot go."

Libya had been due to play teams from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia and Germany in Discover Football, a tournament funded by the German government. It is billed as the biggest gathering of Middle-Eastern women's footballers since the 2011 Arab spring.

El-Alabed, at 37 the oldest player in the squad and who played in Liverpool while earning a Phd in sports science, said the ban had shattered hopes that the fall of Gaddafi would bring social change. "Other teams can play [in Berlin], so why not us? If you could see the girls, when they were told, they were all crying."

After initially giving permission for the tournament, Libya's FA changed its mind. "It is Ramadan," said the FA general secretary, Nasser Ahmed. "We are not against women playing football."

It is understood German diplomats are working behind the scenes to provide guarantees that the 18-strong squad would be secure in Berlin.

Threats from Islamist radicals have already forced the team to train in secret, constantly switching venues and deploying armed guards.

In June Ansar al-Sharia, the militia linked by some with the killing of the US ambassador, Chris Stevens, in Benghazi last September, issued a statement saying it "severely condemned" women's football

"This is something we cannot have because it does not confirm with sharia law," it said. "It invites women to show off and wear clothes that are inappropriate."

Salim Jabar, one of Libya's most popular television preachers, has demanded the women's team disband, saying it was against the strictures of Islam.

"This team consists of tall, good-looking young girls, and that's the last thing this country needs," he said in a sermon broadcast from his Benghazi mosque. "For the first day that she [a Libyan woman] signed up for this team, she has sold herself and brought shame on her family."

Women's football was allowed during the Gaddafi regime, but only in reduced format with teams playing in gyms to be out of the public eye in this conservative Muslim country. Since the revolution the international team has been allowed to play 11-a-side, but its higher profile has made it a lightning rod for extremists.

"They [radicals] say to us you are no good, they intimidate us," says team captain Fadwa el-Bahi, 25.

At one training session, the location of which the Guardian was asked to keep secret, the team coach, Emmad el-Fadeih, said the women had already met strict FA guidelines. All play in head-to-foot blue tracksuits rather than shorts and T-shirts, and most wore the hijab.

El-Fadeih said the team had complied with FA rules that only unmarried women could travel to Germany, and then only if their father or guardian gave written permission.

"There are groups like Ansar al-Sharia don't want them, some people say football is not suitable for women," said el-Fadeih.

Fears of a backlash also saw team members refuse to be photographed for the tournament website. "They don't want their faces displayed," said Naziha Arebi, a British-Libyan filmmaker. "These women just want to play football."

El-Bahi, a geophysics graduate, insists nothing in the Qur'an bans women from sport. "The prophet (Muhammad and his wife used to run together and compete with each other."

She said the authorities should be highlighting the role women's football plays in fostering togetherness in a country wracked with militia violence. "This team is an example of reconciliation," she said. "We have former Gaddafi girls and former rebels, side-by-side."

Rights groups say the problems facing Libya's women footballers are part of a larger struggle by women who have struggled to win their rights. This month Libya's congress, dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood's Justice and Construction party, gave just six seats to women in a 60-strong commission formed to write a new constitution.

Tournament organisers say Libya's place will remain open. "We have heard that the football association decided that they are not allowed to go," said Discover Football spokeswoman Johanna Kosters "We will wait and see if they get on the plane."

source: http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2013/jul/19/libya-womens-football-team-banned-ramadan

Spain's IOC member Marisol Casado says Turkey has removed women wearing headscarves in bid

The head of the Turkish bid, Ugur Erdener, speaks during the presentation of the Candidate Cities for the 2020 Olympic Games during the Association of National Olympic Committees meeting in Switzerland. Picture: AP Source: AP

A SPANISH IOC member questioned why Turkish bid leaders have failed to show images of women wearing headscarves in Istanbul's presentations for the 2020 Olympics.

While declining to answer questions about security in Turkey, Marisol Casado instead raised the issue of women who wear head coverings in the predominantly Muslim country.

Istanbul is competing against Madrid and Tokyo for the 2020 Games, which will be decided by the IOC on Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The three cities made closed-door presentations to IOC members last week in Lausanne, Switzerland.

"There was one question that was never addressed, and that is the number of women who wear the veil," Ms Casado said at a news conference for Madrid's bid.

"There was never an image of a woman wearing a veil in any of their presentation videos."

Turkey, a country that sits on both the Asian and European continents, is governed by secular laws. It would be the first mainly Muslim country to host the Olympics if Istanbul wins in its fifth attempt.

"Anyone who visits Istanbul will be aware that around 30 per cent of women there tend to wear veils," Ms Casado said. "People who live in Arab nations are looking for something that will be more representative of their culture."

Ms Casado's remark was reminiscent of a faux pas made by Tokyo Governor Noiki Onose in April when he compared his city to Istanbul by saying that the Turkish city was underdeveloped and less equipped to host the games than Tokyo.

Mr Inose was also quoted as saying "the only thing (Muslim countries) share in common is Allah and they are fighting with each other, and they have classes."

The governor later apologised.

Under IOC bid rules, candidate cities are prohibited from criticizing rivals.

Ms Casado spoke as Spanish IOC members gave an assessment of how Madrid's bid was shaping up.

Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., accompanied by Jose Perurena and Ms Casado, said Madrid's bid for the 2020 Olympics broke a long tradition of overspending to host the event.

"It's a new model," Mr Samaranch said. "The Madrid Games would be good for the Olympic movement" because it puts forward the idea that games can be organized without massive spending.

Mr Samaranch said it was now more important to "use our brains instead of the wallet." He said hosting the games would also help Spanish sports and the country's economy as a whole. He said that Madrid had "explained clearly that we want it and we need it."

Madrid has sought to present what it has labeled as a low-spend, responsible model, respectful of the 27 per cent unemployment rate that the economic crisis has caused.

Both Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Economy Minister Luis de Guindos have stated that the games posed no financial risk to Spain. Madrid has stressed that 80 per cent of its proposed venues are ready and it will only need $US1.9 billion ($2.1 billion) to complete and burnish its Olympic infrastructure.

"We have limited funds," Mr Samaranch said. "Our presentations have had to be very short and sometimes frustrating because of that."

Istanbul has defended its $US19.4 billion infrastructure budget while Tokyo boasts a reserve fund of $US4.5 billion to be used for the Olympics.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/more-sports/spains-ioc-member-marisol-casado-says-turkey-has-removed-women-wearing-headscarves-in-bid/story-fnibbyyv-1226677414888 

The Muslim women who are excelling at top-level sport

• 
• • Farah Jassat
  • guardian.co.uk, 

Salma Bi (right) … 'The main challenge is family support'. Photograph: Nick Wilkinsonk

On a recent weekday evening at London's Wembley Stadium, half a dozen Muslim women, some wearing headscarves, were taking it in turns to flip over some male opponents with impressive shoulder-height kicks.

These women, demonstrating Safari Kickboxing's female-only Muay Thai Kickboxing classes, were taking part in a ground-breaking celebration of Muslim women in sport. Pioneered by the Muslim Women's Sports Foundation (MWSF) and supported by the FA, the evening's Ambassador Awards showcased the diverse sporting talent of Muslim women across the UK and abroad.

"I cannot think of a better backdrop to these inaugural awards than Wembley," says the FA's chairman David Bernstein. "It is a stadium synonymous with achievement, excellence, inclusivity, variety and success … I've seen what Muslim women have achieved – it will be an inspiration for the wider community."

With awards ranging from UK Sportswoman of the Year to Volunteer of the Year, the MWSF is keen to recognise different forms of sporting success – both at professional and grassroots levels. The organisation strongly believes that faith and sport for both genders are entirely compatible and that the culture of sport is an essential part of Islamic history. Since its establishment in 2001 it has been at the forefront of encouraging physical activity amongst women from British ethnic-minority communities, particularly focusing on the cultural sensitivities of Muslim women.

So why aren't enough Muslim women getting involved in sports? The recurring theme seems to be cultural attitudes. Salma Bi, a 26-year-old cricketer, and the only female Muslim umpire at Level 1A, has founded her own coaching academy, and believes "the main challenge is the support of the family". It is much harder to excel in anything if your loved ones don't understand why it's important to you.

Moreover, concerns over maintaining modest dress and contact sports with members of the opposite sex can also make traditional sports clubs off-putting. Ayesha Abdeen, MWSF's Chief Executive says, "we found that Muslim women are the hardest to get active – if you can cater to their requirements, you can cater to anybody's".

Offering female only sports clubs or sessions has helped to combat this and provide opportunities where more Muslim women feel comfortable in enjoying sport. MWSF also allows mothers to bring their kids along to some training sessions.

Cultural barriers to participation were recently highlighted in Saudi Arabia, when the country refused to allow Saudi women to compete in the Olympics. The institutional barrier, by contrast, can be seen in Fifa's ban on women wearing hijab on the pitch. The Iranian women's football team could not complete their 2012 Olympic second-round qualifying match against Jordan because they refused to remove their headscarves.

The new awards will hopefully provide role models for other Muslim women. One such role model for many will be the MWSF's International Sportswoman of the Year, Ibtihaj Muhammad. She is an American sabre fencer and Olympic hopeful who has made the last two US World Championship teams is ranked second in the US and hopes to be the first Muslim woman representing the US in any sport whilst wearing hijab. Although she has said it is "extremely difficult being different in the sports world – be it for religion or race" issues of faith, race, gender and sport need not clash. "I would never fence if it compromised who I am and my religion – I love that the two work together."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/may/10/muslim-women-excelling-at-top-level-sport

Maldives Women’s Team Forfeit Basketball Tournament Over Headscarf Ban

BY: MINIVAN NEWS

The Maldives’ women’s basketball team refused to play without their headscarves, forfeiting the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) first under 18 three-on-three tournament held in Bangkok, Thailand earlier this week.

“The girls were really upset, we are as well. We came prepared based on the uniform the team wore in the last two games,” Maldives Basketball Association (MBA) President Ahmed Hafiz told Minivan News today (May 27).

“According to FIBA, the head cannot be covered during play. We have to go with FIBA rules if we want to play,” Hafiz stated.

The Maldives’ women’s basketball team has been allowed to participate in past tournaments while wearing burugaathah (headscarves), however the decision to make an exception to the rules “depends on the officials”, according to Hafiz.

“Qatar held a tournament two weeks back and there were some complaints that the Qatar team was wearing headgear, so FIBA was forced to apply the rules,” Hafiz explained. “Maybe that is the reason this issue came up for the Maldives [in this tournament].”

FIBA Asia has designed a jersey for Muslim players, but still needs to obtain FIBA international approval, according to the MBA.

“FIBA Asia is working on this because lots of Muslim countries are involved. Now the are suggesting to FIBA International to change the rules to allow headgear,” said Hafiz.

The Maldives’ under 18 women’s team is planning to participate in the upcoming Asian Youth Games, to be held this August in Nanjing, China, according to Hafiz.

“However, [the choice] is up to the players. We will not force them,” he said.

“This is a big problem for the game and will ruin the development of women’s basketball for a place like this, because there are still very few girl players and most wear the burugaa,” MBA Secretary General Arif Riza told Minivan News today.

“FIBA is pretty clear about the rules, so although the team has been allowed to play twice before, this was a mistake of ours also,” said Riza.

The primary issues of concern to MBA are that FIBA permitted the Maldives’ team to wear headscarves during tournaments in 2011 and 2012 as well as allowed other teams to play in violation of different dress code rules, such as wearing t-shirts instead of jerseys, according to Riza.

“Immediately after President Hafiz arrives [from Thailand] we will discuss the issue and write FIBA a letter,” said Riza.

“They should be allowed to have the right to play,” he declared.

FIBA Response

The headgear ban is “a part of FIBA Rules, but not a policy,” FIBA AsiaSecretary General Hagop Khajirian told Minivan News Thursday (May 23).

“It has nothing to do with headscarves as such, but more to do with the regulations which stipulate that the playing gears of players has to be such that it may not cause any harm or hindrance to themselves or opponent players,” explained Khajirian.

Although these rules have “been the case always”, FIBA is currently reviewing the headscarf restriction.

“There have been requests from many nations regarding this. And the FIBA Asia Central Board, in its meeting [held] on April 24 in Kuala Lumpur, resolved to send a study paper to FIBA to be taken up for further consideration,” said Khajirian.

The choice to cover

While Maldivian women’s participation in basketball is slowly increasing, netballis popular nationwide. Although there are key distinctions between the two sports – such as no dribbling in netball – the rules are very similar, according to a skilled Maldivian netball player of nine years and student coach of six years.

“Wearing the burugaa while playing netball is no problem for us, it is not difficult and we’ve never experienced any injuries [from the headscarves],” she explained on condition of anonimity.

“Every person has the choice of whether or not they choose to wear the burugaa. However, it is a religious thing, in Islam Muslims have to cover, it is the right thing,” she continued.

“Although some are not wearing [headscarves], that is their choice,” she added.

The netball enthusiast agreed with the Maldives’ women’s basketball team decision to not remove their headscarves and forefit their game in the recent FIBA three-on-three tournament.

“Their choice was the correct one, they do not want to break religous rules,” she said.

“FIBA should change their rules if they want Maldivians to participate, because so many [women] are wearing burugaathah. They have to change so everyone can compete,” she added.

Burugaa bans

A senor researcher from the internatonal NGO, Human Rights Watch, previously highlighted the discriminatory issue of banning women from wearing headscarves, in a 2012 article “Banning Muslim Veil Denies Women a Choice, Too”.

“The sad irony is that whether they are being forced to cover up or to uncover, these women are being discriminated against. Banned from wearing the hijab – a traditional Muslim headscarf – or forced to veil themselves, women around the world are being stripped of their basic rights to personal autonomy; to freedom of expression; and to freedom of religion, thought and conscience,” wrote Judith Sunderland.

“Denying women the right to cover themselves is as wrong as forcing them to do so. Muslim women, like all women, should have the right to dress as they choose and to make decisions about their lives and how to express their faith, identity and moral values. And they should not be forced to choose between their beliefs and their chosen profession,” notes the article.

Muslim women’s basketball players in Switzerland and Baharain have also faced controversial opposition to their refual to remove their headscarves.

The Baharaini team was “lauded” for their refusal to remove their headscarves during an international competition in 2009, according to Gulf News.

Meanwhile, Sura Al-Shawk, a 19 year-old STV Luzern basketball player, was denied permission to play while wearing a headscarf by the Swiss basketball association ProBasket in 2010, reported the Associated Press.

ProBasket told the Associated Press it followed FIBA rules and that wearing the headscarf while playing basketball “could increase the risk of injury and the sport has to be religiously neutral”.

In July 2012, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)overturned a headscarf ban, which was put into place in 2007, after a yearlong campaign led by FIFA vice president Prince Ali of Jordan, reported the Associated Press.

http://minivannews.com/society/maldives-womens-team-forfeit-basketball-tournament-over-headscarf-ban-58580?utm_content=buffer7262a&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=linkedin&utm_campaign=Buffer

Saudi Arabia To Allow Women Into Stadiums

BY: JAMES M DORSEY

Saudi Arabia, under domestic and international pressure to grant women sporting rights, is creating separate stadium sections so that female spectators and journalists can attend soccer matches in a country that has no public physical education or sporting facilities for women.

The move announced by the recently elected head of the Saudi Football Federation, Ahmed Eid Alharbi, a storied player believed to be a reformer, also comes as soccer is emerging as a focal point of dissent in the conservative kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has been slow in granting limited enhancement of women’s rights in response to demands by activists. Women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving, travelling without authorization from a male relative and banned from working in a host of professions. Saudi Arabia’s religious police said last month that women would be allowed to ride bikes and motorbikes in recreational areas provided that they were properly dressed and accompanied by a male relative.

Saudi Arabia recently also announced that it would allow girl’s physical education in private schools as long as they do so in line with Islamic law. Yet, a five-year national sports plan, the kingdom’s first, currently being drafted does not make provisions for women’s sports. Saudi sources say the government is also for the first time considering licensing women’s soccer clubs.

Saudi Arabia last year sent under pressure from the International Olympic Committee women athletes, albeit expatriate ones, to the 2012 London Olympics, the first time Saudi women competed in an international tournament. The kingdom is also under pressure from the West Asian Football Federation, which earlier this year, issued guidelines to ensure that women have equal rights and opportunities in soccer.

Speaking at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, according to Saudi press reports, Mr. Alharbi hinted at the economic impact of allowing women to attend matches by saying that the creation of facilities for them would increase capacity at various stadiums by 15 percent. He said the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah would be the first to accommodate up to 32,000 women followed by the King Abdullah City stadium in the capital in 2014. Saudi Arabia, which enforces strict gender segregation, first announced in 2012 plans to upgrade the Jeddah stadium to enable women to enter.

Meanwhile, in the latest politically-loaded soccer incident, Al Ittihad SC of Jeddah, filed a complaint against Riyadh’s Al Hilal SC after an Al Ittihad official and fans tweeted and chanted racist remarks. Al Ittihad, which has a number of dark-skinned Saudi players, and Al Hilal are among Saudi Arabia’s top clubs.

“The last match between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad clearly revealed the indecency of Al-Ittihad players through two movements – one from ‘the monkey’ Fahd Al-Muwallad who did not stop proceeding when Muhammad Al-Qarni was injured in a jostle with him. Secondly, (they) did not fulfill the commitment to Majed Al-Murshidi, and did not greet or thank him,” Saud Al-Sahli, assistant director of public relations and announcer at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, said on Twitter. Al Hilal fans chanted Some Al-Hilal fans had shouted “Nigger, Nigger” during the match earlier this month. Messrs. Al-Muwallad and Al-Qarni are both dark-skinned.

Saudi newspapers warned that racist incidents threaten to rekindle religious sectarianism, tribalism, and regionalism in the kingdom, in part a reference to Shiite Muslim protests in the oil-rich Eastern Province. 

“The racist and sectarian utterances of sports fans should not be punished by fines alone, as some heads of the sports clubs are immensely rich and can pay the fines against their fans without feeling any burden. There should be harsher punishments, including a ban on the fans from entering the stadiums, reducing the club’s league points or even downgrading it to a lower division,” the Saudi Gazette said in an editorial.

Members of the royal family with positions in Saudi soccer or who own clubs have been repeatedly in the past year in the firing line of disgruntled fans. A Facebook page entitled Nasrawi Revolution demands the resignation of Prince Faisal bin Turki, the owner of storied Riyadh club Al Nasser FC and a burly nephew of King Abdullah who sports a mustache and chin hair. A You Tube video captured Prince Faisal seemingly being pelted and chanted against as he rushed off the soccer pitch after rudely shoving a security official aside.

The campaign against Prince Faisal follows last year’s unprecedented resignation of Prince Nawaf bin Feisal as head of the Saudi Football Federation (SFF), the first royal to be persuaded by public pressure step down in a region where monarchial control of the sport is seen as politically important.

Prince Nawaf’s resignation led to the election of Mr. Alharbi, a commoner, in a country that views free and fair polling as a Western concept that is inappropriate for the kingdom. Prince Nawaf retained his position as head of the Saudi Olympic Committee and the senior official responsible for youth welfare that effectively controls the SFF.

Nevertheless, the resignation of Prince Nawaf and the campaign against Prince Faisal gains added significance in a nation in which the results of premier league clubs associated with various members of the kingdom’s secretive royal family are seen as a barometer of their relative status, particularly at a time that its septuagenarian and octogenarian leaders prepare for a gradual generational transition.

Said a Saudi journalist, summing up the mood among fans and many other Saudis: “Everything is upside down. Revolution is possible. There is change, but it is slow. It has to be fast. Nobody knows what will happen.”

http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.ca/2013/05/saudi-arabia-to-allow-women-into.html

Samina Baig: First Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest

Samina and her brother completed their trek up Mount Everest. PHOTO: theyouthrepublic.com

Mountaineer Samina Baig has become the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain with a peak at 8,848 metres.

Baig completed the climb to the summit at around 7:30am local time with her brother Mirza Ali, who becomes the third and youngest Pakistani male to scale the mountain.

Nepal Mountaineering Department official Tilak Padney said that 35 foreigners accompanied by 29 Nepalese Sherpa guides reached the peak after climbing all night from the highest camp on South Col — the pass between Everest and a neighboring mountain.

Ali (29) and Baig (21) are natives of Shimshal village in Hunza valley, Pakistan. Ali has been climbing since age 15, and he was Baig’s mentor, guide and support.

On his personal blog, Ali stated that this climb was the “First Pakistani Gender Equality Mt Everest Expedition” .

Samina Baig and her brother climbing Everest. PHOTO: Pakyouthoutreach

Description of climb

From Mirza Ali’s blog 

“Once at base camp, we will begin our acclimatization trips. This involves climbing to Camp 1, staying the night, then returning to base camp to rest, then climbing to Camp 1 and staying the night and climbing on to Camp 2 and staying the night, before returning to base camp and so on up to Camp 3.

Once our acclimatisation trips have finished, and assuming we are  in good health  and super fit physically and mentally, we’ll be ready to try for the summit, which should be mid May. We will wait for a good weather forecast or ‘window’ for the possible summit  attempt.”

Pakistan, India flags fly together

Indian twin sisters Tashi and Nugshi were also at the top of the Everest with Baig and Ali. By hoisting Pakistani and Indian flags side by side, the four South-Asians hoped to spread the message of Pak-India peace and friendship.

Samina Baig with Tashi and Nugshi during Acclimatization phase

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/551508/samina-baig-first-pakistani-woman-to-scale-mount-everest/ 

Saudi woman tops Everest as country warms to women in sports

(AFP) –

KATHMANDU — Saudi woman Raha Moharrak reached the summit of Nepal's Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, in a first for the conservative Muslim kingdom where women's sports are severely restricted, tourism officials said on Sunday.

The 25-year-old reached the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) summit early Saturday morning with a party of foreign mountaineers and Nepalese guides.

"She reached the peak with 12 other members of the expedition," Gyanendra Shrestha, an official with Nepal's tourism ministry, told AFP from Everest Base Camp.

"We have been able to contact her and she is very exhausted and now resting," Hassan Moharrak, the climber's father, told AFP, adding that the family was very happy with her achievement.

Moharrak's feat is backdropped by her country's gradual warming to the idea of women participating in sports.

In a historic first for the country, two female athletes participated in the 2012 London Olympic games.

Early this month, the government allowed some girls in private schools to participate in athletics but requested the schools ensure girls wear "a covering and decent outfit" for sport activities in "suitable areas".

According to international watchdog Human Rights Watch, Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that still effectively bars girls from taking part in sports in government schools.

"It's terrific a Saudi woman has been able to reach the summit of Everest," Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.

"But it's worth remembering that meanwhile millions of women and girls in Saudi Arabia are still denied the right to climb in a gym or play any sports, including in state schools -- as a matter of government policy."

Moharrak's Everest expedition, dubbed "Arabs with Altitude", undertook the quest to raise money for education charities in Nepal.

Hundreds of climbers will attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest peak in the coming days as a fair weather window has opened.

This year, which marks the 60th anniversary of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's maiden Everest summit, has been marred by a brawl that broke out between European climbers and Nepalese Sherpas high on the mountain in April.

Kuwait launches sports clubs for women

Photo Credit: www.thejakartapost.com

As part of a new initiative launching sports leagues for women, al-Shatti and her teammates from Salwa Al-Sabah club downed Qadsiya club 63-13 in a game that attracted several hundred men and female fans. The initiative to launch basketball, table tennis and athletic leagues for the first time in Kuwait illustrates how the landscape for women athletes is improving across the Persian Gulf where hard-liners have long opposed women playing sports.

Several of the players, in deference to the conservative Muslim culture that is common across the Persian Gulf, wore leggings and covered their heads with hijab. Others, however, wore shorts and T-shirts.

"A competition like this should have happened a long time ago," said al-Shatti, who has played in tournaments overseas and only heard about the league in her home country while playing in neighboring Bahrain. "But I am glad it finally took place. We've been trying to do this for a long time and they have promised that more sports will be included in future leagues."

Helped by government support, increased education and erosion of traditional values, football leagues for girls in the Gulf have started up in Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia - which long barred girls from playing any sports - recently announced it would allow sports in private schools as long as they abide by the rules of Shariah, or Islamic law.

Saudi Arabia's decision is part of a wider package of reforms targeting women with the aim of ending discriminatory practices that have contributed to a host of health problems, including obesity and diabetes. The private schools' announcement also follows a decision last year in the kingdom to allow two female athletes to compete in the London Olympic Games following months of intense pressure from the International Olympics Committee.

Still, women's sports remain nearly an underground activity in the kingdom, which is home to Islam's holiest site in Mecca. Only the largest female university in the kingdom - Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University - has a swimming pool, tennis court and exercise area for its students. No other university in Saudi Arabia has sports facilities for female students and staff.

Women are also bound by strict rules when it comes to their attire, so they cannot, for example, be seen by men while jogging in sweat pants. Female athletes cannot register for sports clubs or league competitions. They are banned from entering national trials, making it impossible for them to qualify for international competitions.

Kuwait is typical of the struggle women have endured in the Gulf.

The 1970s were described as the golden era where women were allowed to freely participate in sports in Kuwait, according to Naeema al-Sabah, the head of the Women's Sports Federation. But in the ensuing decades, the influence of Islamic hard-liners grew in the country and sports for women all but disappeared. Hard-liners believe that sports will promote immoral behavior and uniforms inappropriately reveal female bodies.

The low point came a few years back when a Kuwaiti women's football team was publicly denounced after returning from playing a regional tournament in neighboring United Arab Emirates.

"We're taking baby steps toward progress," al-Sabah said. "As with any society that is religiously strict, we need to test the waters and take small steps. Everyone in Kuwait now values sports. You see people walking and jogging every day. There is this increasing interest in playing sports in general."

Al-Shatti said the best sign that things are changing was the number of women and girls who turned out for the basketball game. A music teacher who also cycles and jogs with her husband, al-Shatti is only hoping to get more chances to play.

"It felt like the first step toward a better future for sports for us here in Kuwait," she said after her team's victory.

Source: http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/sport/2013/05/10/kuwait-launches-sports-clubs-for-women

Saudi Arabia allows schoolgirls to play sport

Saudi Arabia has given girls at private schools the right to play sport, the education ministry said Sunday, in a step aimed at easing restrictions on women in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
 
The ministry directive published in Saudi newspapers says that private schools for girls have been told to "put into effect a number of rules to regulate sports".
 
The measure appears to have left out the majority of students at state schools.
 
The ministry has, however, requested the schools ensure girls wear "a covering and decent outfit" for sport activities in "suitable areas".
 
It also demanded that female Saudi coaches get the priority in employment at such facilities.
 
The ministry pointed out that some private schools were already offering physical education, but without any regulations to follow.
 
The issue of Saudi women in sport came under the spotlight during the 2012 London Olympic Games, when the Muslim kingdom bowed to pressure and sent female athletes to compete for the first time.
 
At that time, Human Rights Watch said that despite the participation of two Saudi women at the Olympics, millions of women in the Gulf state were still banned from sports.
 
Saudi women remain banned from driving, and have to cover from head to toe when in public, among other restrictions.

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/saudi-arabia-allows-schoolgirls-to-play-sport.aspx?pageID=238&nID=46240&NewsCatID=352