Women’s Sport On The Rise – Not In All Countries!

Playing sports in Canada is more than a thrill, in reality it’s a part of our culture and for that we take it for granted that both Men and Women can play any sport they chose.

Other countries aren’t so lucky but one who is taking steps forward (?) country is Saudi Arabia who allowed 19-year-old Sarah Attar to cross the finish line of the 800m sprint at the London Olympics.

There were over 80,000 spectators cheering her for a feat that had never been accomplished in the past and hoped that this would be the first of many this would take place.

The crowd wasn’t just congratulating her (Attar) on the victory which she completed over half a minute behind competitors, but rather responding to her historic presence as one of the first female athletes to represent Saudi Arabia in the Olympics.

The Olympics are is a sporting event that see’s the Athlete’s compete in front of both men and women, something that the country had previously banned women from attending.

Both Attar and her team member Wojdan Shaherkani were allowed to compete; the public questioned how this would affect other female athletes in not only Saudi Arabia, but other countries with the same mind set might think or mean.

Attar competed in the 800 meters and her team-mate ran in the 100 meters while Fahmi will take part in the -52 Kg judo and Omair will compete in fencing.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, however Saudi Arabia has managed to double the total number of female athletes managing to send four women.

All four will be given a “wild card” entry, which is a similar arrangement to the 2012 London Olympics, which was a huge step for the Female Athlete in this country.

One can only assume that they did in a special way manage to set a precedent of sorts, but this does not necessarily mean change for the Country.

Ali Al-Ahmed, a Saudi scholar who has published studies on women’s sports in Saudi Arabia for the Gulf Institute states “The presence of female athletes [in the 2012 Olympics] made things worse, because it allowed Saudi Arabia to escape criticism and it was a fig leaf—they did this for the international community.”

It should be noted that Saudi Arabia appointed Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al-Saud to be the head of a new female department of Saudi Arabia’s Sports Ministry, which is a huge step, but female athletes in their country still face significant prejudice.

Even today women living in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to take part in any state-organized sports leagues, national tournaments, or even attend their national team’s games as spectators.

Of the 150 official sports clubs in the Country there are none that are open to women, still allowing concern for discrimination from other athlete’s in various countries world wide.

While boys’ classes have compulsory gym classes, the majority of girls’ schools do not include any physical education curriculum in the system.

Canadian’s question as to why, but it’s the culture of the country passed down from generation to generation, but one day this will all change.

Women are not allowed to exercise in fitness studios with men, and female-only facilities are quite often refused a license or possibly faced by a closure to the premise.

No different from other underground clubs world wide we hear that some of these are operating in some locations, but those attending covered by full hijabs.

And some women have tried to operate gyms using health-club licenses, which are used by hotels and nail salons.

But they can’t provide the same variety of activities, and their high fees make them inaccessible to many female customers.

It’s interesting to note that the flag barer is the daughter of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai and represented the UAE in Taekwondo at the 2008 Beijing Olympics’.