Muslim Women In Athletics

EnderD_503 · 05-12-2011, 05:55 PM

Yesterday I read a great article in Metro News about female athletes in Arab and Muslim nations. I tried looking for it online on the metronews.ca site, but it doesn't seem to be up there. I'll try to transcribe the whole article later, but basically it was talking about the rise of Muslim women playing football in the Muslim nations.

Some interesting statistics:

There was only one female football team on the West Bank seven years ago, but now there are 16 Palestinian female outdoor fotball teams and 10 indoor teams.

Nine Middle Eastern nations including the UAE, Qatar and Iran have women's football or indoor football leagues.

In some countries only men are allowed to practice on outdoor fields.

Apparently Iran's football association is in conflict with FIFA which bans female athletes from wearing headscarves. The result has been the creation of a market for athletic gear for Muslim women. Apparently a Montreal designer named Elham Seyed Javad has come up with a product called a "sports jihab."

Turkey and Iran have the largest number of the region's female athletes, who have also had success in weightlifting as well on the international level.

Some interesting quotes:

"Love of sport seems to be female atheltes' primary motivation. They also want to gain physical strength and become fit. Many of the are interested in sports for self-defence purposes, which they hope will provide them a higher self-esteem" says one blog on Muslim women in sports.

http://www.muslimwomeninsports.blogspot.com/

"People think of us Palestinians as terrorists. I want to show them that we're peaceful and well-educated." - 26 year old Honey Thaljieh

Basically, I want to use this thread to talk about female athletics in Arab and Muslim nations. Progresses, setbacks and so on. I found this particular article really enlightening and like I said will transcribe it later on since it's not online, and think it' a good read.

Thoughts? Contributions?

05-12-2011, 05:55 PM	#1
EnderD_503 Member How Do You Identify?: Queer, trans guy, butch Preferred Pronoun?: Male pronouns Relationship Status: Relationship Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 1,329 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 4,090 Thanked 3,878 Times in 1,022 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	Muslim Women In Athletics Yesterday I read a great article in Metro News about female athletes in Arab and Muslim nations. I tried looking for it online on the metronews.ca site, but it doesn't seem to be up there. I'll try to transcribe the whole article later, but basically it was talking about the rise of Muslim women playing football in the Muslim nations. Some interesting statistics: There was only one female football team on the West Bank seven years ago, but now there are 16 Palestinian female outdoor fotball teams and 10 indoor teams. Nine Middle Eastern nations including the UAE, Qatar and Iran have women's football or indoor football leagues. In some countries only men are allowed to practice on outdoor fields. Apparently Iran's football association is in conflict with FIFA which bans female athletes from wearing headscarves. The result has been the creation of a market for athletic gear for Muslim women. Apparently a Montreal designer named Elham Seyed Javad has come up with a product called a "sports jihab." Turkey and Iran have the largest number of the region's female athletes, who have also had success in weightlifting as well on the international level. Some interesting quotes: "Love of sport seems to be female atheltes' primary motivation. They also want to gain physical strength and become fit. Many of the are interested in sports for self-defence purposes, which they hope will provide them a higher self-esteem" says one blog on Muslim women in sports. http://www.muslimwomeninsports.blogspot.com/ "People think of us Palestinians as terrorists. I want to show them that we're peaceful and well-educated." - 26 year old Honey Thaljieh Basically, I want to use this thread to talk about female athletics in Arab and Muslim nations. Progresses, setbacks and so on. I found this particular article really enlightening and like I said will transcribe it later on since it's not online, and think it' a good read. Thoughts? Contributions?