A month before the London Olympic Games, Saudi Arabia have agreed to let its female athletes compete in the Olympics for the first time. Officials say the country's Olympic Committee will oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify.
Deliberations by Saudi officials on sending women to the games have been wrapped in secrecy for fear of a backlash from the powerful religious establishment within a deeply traditional society, in which women are severely restricted in public life and are not even allowed to drive.
Saudi Arabia is one of three countries that have never included women in their Olympic teams, along with Qatar and Brunei. The International Olympic Committee said talks have been ongoing with Saudi Arabia to ensure participation and a statement by the country’s embassy in London said female athletes, who qualify, could be allowed to participate.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is looking forward to its complete participation in the London 2012 Olympic Games through the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee, which will oversee the participation of women athletes who can qualify for the games,” the statement said.
Human Rights Watch said the announcement is “an important step forward,” but the New York-based group cautioned that gender discrimination in the country remains “institutional and entrenched.”
“It is only right that the Saudi government should play by the Olympic rules,” Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said. “But an 11th-hour change of course to avoid a ban does not alter the dismal and unequal conditions for women and girls in Saudi Arabia.”
There are no written laws that ban or restrict women from participating in sport in Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s holiest shrines. The stigma of female athletes is rooted in conservative traditions and religious views which hold that giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sin.
Saudi officials have been sending mixed signals for months. While some said that they had been working on an arrangement with the IOC, top sports officials in the kingdom were adamant in publicly denying the possibility of female athletes competing at the Olympics.
Saudi Olympic Committee president Prince Nawaf said in April that female participation had not been approved by the country’s leaders and that Saudi-based women traveling to London would be contrary to the country’s traditions and norms.
Nawaf left open the possibility of Saudi women who are studying abroad being able to compete outside of the team as independent athletes. However, that option was quashed after pressure from human rights groups and the IOC.
On Monday, a Saudi official said an announcement by King Abdullah about Saudi women’s participation in the Olympics was expected some days ago, but was postponed after the death of Crown Prince Nayef.
King Abdullah has taken modest steps to reform and modernize the oil-rich nation since he ascended the throne in 2005. He has faced staunch opposition from the hardline members of the royal family on each proposal he’s made toward easing restrictions on women.
Associated Press Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No condition is permanent. It is time for the Arab countries change their attitude towards their females.
ReplyDelete