Saudi discussion of women in sports

[paulthefan]

Great article on the front page.

[cacique]

can you provide a link?

[tandfman]

The link is on the front page. Look at Today's Headlines, scroll down. It's still there. (And for anyone reading this in the future, just go to Today's Headlines, scroll down to the bottom, click on Previous Days, then enter Saudis in the search box at the top of the page.)

[cacique]

sorry, i did look for it but somehow i didn't catch it the first time.

wow. it only took the IOC 100 yrs to get behind this issue. countries -- read saudi arabia, pretty much the only one left -- must make steps towards women's sports by 2010. what, they are just gonna start some token teams and leave it at that. amazing.

[Flumpy]

As far as I'm concerned any country that refuses to allow women to compete should be banned from international competition.

South Africa was banned for nearly 30 years until they changed their racist policies. I don't see why sexist ones should be treated any differently.

[Pego]

As far as I'm concerned any country that refuses to allow women to compete should be banned from international competition.

South Africa was banned for nearly 30 years until they changed their racist policies. I don't see why sexist ones should be treated any differently.

...as well as all discriminatory policies, domestic or international.

[tandfman]

Are volunteering to be the one who decides which policies fit in that category?

[Pego]

Yep, that might get tricky .

[Marlow]

Am I correct in thinking this is a religious issue and not a cultural one? I realize other Islamic countries allow women to compete, but SA is pretty strict on this sort of thing. How do we dictate religious beliefs to them? That said, they probably WILL change their ways, because they want their men to compete, so a little behavior modification is just the ticket to have them rethink their ideas.

[lonewolf]

Religion and culture are very convoluted in Islamic countries. Many cultural and societal restrictions are not forbidden in the Koran but are personal prejudices/ interpretation of the people calling the shots.
Women participating in athletics is commonly restricted under the umbrella of "modesty" clauses in the Koran. As we have seen, modesty varies from country to country, possibly correlative to the talent of the women concerned.
Saudi Arabia, which even forbids native women to drive a car, probably would not be influenced, even should they inadvertenlty discover a world class women track and field athlete in their midst..

[sprintblox]

Saudi Arabia, which even forbids native women to drive a car, probably would not be influenced, even should they inadvertenlty discover a world class women track and field athlete in their midst..

World class women in their midst won't matter to them anytime soon. What might matter to them is if they can't send their world class men to the Olympics. What would matter much more is if the US and Europe stopped buying oil from them.

[Marlow]

What would matter much more is if the US and Europe stopped buying oil from them.

Over whether they allow women to compete??!! Yeah, that'll happen!

[rasb]

I predict a force much more powerful than oil.....Soon, hopefully very soon, the women in some of these countries will come to the realization that they are being treated as 2nd or 3rd class citizens. And they won't take it anymore, as they shouldn't. And the uprising will blow the robes off the male pigs, and not in the way that they imagined. "Hell hath no fury'......

[Marlow]

And the uprising will blow the robes off the male pigs, and not in the way that they imagined. "Hell hath no fury'......

It took USA women all the way into the 1970s to make a real statement, and they were light years ahead of Saudi women.

[jhc68]

So, Marlow, sending Amy Acuff on an educational tour of Islamic nations would be premature at this time?