Home Opinion Development of competent Saudi sportswomen will not happen by itself

Development of competent Saudi sportswomen will not happen by itself

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Najah Al-Osaimi

 

 

 

 

 

Saudi Arabia’s decision not to send female athletes to this year’s Asian Games in South Korea is not new. We are accustomed to seeing a whirlwind of comments about the position of women on our teams ahead of every sporting competition.

But the justification of Saudi Arabia’s Olympic Committee for not having females, which is that women are not “sufficiently competent” draws attention to what initiatives have been undertaken by our sporting committees to address this gap, and more generally, what support they have been giving to the role of women in sports in Saudi Arabia.

Two years ago, the Kingdom made a move to develop women’s rights in sports when two young Saudi women – Sarah Attar, a track and field athlete, and Wojdan Shaherkani, a judo competitor – were allowed to compete officially in the London Olympics 2012. Yet, this step has not been followed up by other initiatives nor has it led to a policy development which could allow broader participation by Saudi women in sports.

The current environment in which millions of Saudi girls grow up actively discourages them from taking up any physical activity. Sports are still banned in girls’ public schools, despite the fact that the schools are completely segregated from boys’ schools. There was a recent debate over the possibility of introducing physical education in girls’ private schools. However, even if such an action were to be carried out, it is surely not enough as further initiatives are clearly needed, most important of which is the introduction of laws that would recognize and defend women’s rights to sports.

Existing rules do not seem to support or encourage women and girls to take up an active lifestyle. This gap can be seen in the lack of sufficient support for the development of women’s sports. Previous governments designed sporting programs and financial resources that were not only restricted to males but also excluded women from sports as “fans”. Sports venues ban females from entering to watch sporting events. Most entertainment venues in the Kingdom dedicate special sections for women. But not sporting venues. It is simply not allowed in order to prevent women from mixing with male audiences.

Additionally, the socially constructed gender stereotypes of women in Saudi society add layers of complication to the situation.  Many Saudis refuse to let their women and girls engage in social activities away from home. This attitude is partly promoted by random religious fatwas (religious edicts issued by Islamic scholars) which consider sports as a sinful conflict with the Islamic concept of femininity, which limits a woman’s role to her home and family.

These uncontrolled fatwas often influence society’s acceptance of women in sports as well as a woman’s freedom to practice sports. This could be seen during the London Olympics when many conservatives used social media to object to having Saudi women in a televised tournament and with some even calling them “prostitutes” on Twitter.

That being said, I do not believe that the level of competence of Saudi female athletes should be the main reason for not sending them to the Asian Games. Rather, it shows a reluctance by our sporting institutions to address the above mentioned challenges.

I understand that sporting institutions in the Kingdom are not legislated. Therefore, they have no authority to set or amend rules, but they could play a more active role in advising the government to adopt suitable policies that would  aid in promoting sports among women. They should help in developing strategies to encourage the government to include sports for women systematically in their social development plans.

The development of competent sportswomen will not happen by itself. It is an evolving process which is primarily initiated by the government’s recognition of the participation of women in sports, in addition to raising awareness about the importance of sports as a human development among the sporting committees in the Kingdom. Most especially, there is an essential need for a basic willingness to empower women in the country.

This will come only when women’s issues begin to be addressed by our sporting committees. Perhaps the General Presidency of Youth Welfare (GPYW) should start this by establishing a department to develop women’s sports in two aspects: Firstly, to increase their participation in sports within our community, which would raise the awareness of physical activities for health benefits in our society. Additionally, they should encourage the development of physical education in schools as well as the establishment of physical recreation centers. This could be done in coordination with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Information.

However, most importantly there is a need to allow access for women to many administrative positions. Having women represented on our sports boards and committees will have a positive impact on the process of advancing women’s participation in sports. These representatives would provide a greater platform to support the needs and requirements of women, provided that they have access to these community services.

Source: Saudi Gazette