Thou [translation: female] shalt not play soccer.
This latest decree from Saudi Arabia, in effect, cancels its first Women Soccer Championship.
The decision came after a visit by the general manager of the Ministry of Islamic affairs, endowments, and guidance to the college organizing the championship. The Saudi-affiliated Al Arabiya news website did not report the reasons behind the abrupt announcement.
Banning the championship is yet another classic Saudi example of using Islamic values to justify and perpetuate patriarchy. Some of the readers’ comments on Al Arabiya’s report reflect this mix-up. I may have accidentally spewed cereal on my computer screen after a laughing fit while reading this comment: “Imagine if this suddenly happened. Your sister kicking the ball…you see her wearing a t-shirt and your mother is the goalie. And the world/men/cameras focused on their br…and she’s running after the ball. How would you feel then?” Yes, indeed God forbid, women in t-shirts!
Somehow the idea of muscular men in tiny shorts running around the field, occasionally stripping their t-shirts in excitement after a goal, is not enticing to women . After all, they’re supposed to be sexually naïve and oblivious to the blonde good looks of Beckham and other players.
Falcon, Ferrari, Red Devil, and Virus, the four women’s teams, can look forward to a lifetime of football: from their TV screens.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Palestine's other conflict
If you listen closely beyond the sounds of gun shots and grief, you’ll hear the voices involved in a different conflict in Palestine. This time it’s sexual politics.
On March 28 in Haifa, Aswat held the first public conference for Palestinian lesbians to mark its fifth anniversary.
The Associated Press report hailed the participants’ defiance of sexual taboos, especially in the face of “Islamist” protests. While much space was devoted to explain the participants’ views, the “Islamist” protestors were given a whitewashed depiction at best. They were simply described as women wearing “headscarves and long, loose robes” as though their ideology can be derived from their dress.
The AP report depicted the Israeli part of Haifa, where the conference was held, as more tolerant of homosexuality than Israeli-Arab towns. Yet the story remarkably failed to address the reactions of Christian and Orthodox Jewish groups to the conference.
Most media reports failed to note that skepticism about the conference and Aswat’s activism does not stem from perceived Islamic homophobia. Rather, there is some Arab concern about potential Israeli support of the Palestinian lesbian movement and how it can cause divisions within the Palestinian community. According to Albawaba website the International Committee for LGBT Human Rights has asked Israeli authorities and religious groups to provide security and protection during the conference.
It’s doubtful that Aswat can win the hearts and minds of the Palestinian/Arab/Muslim communities given this potential alliance.
On March 28 in Haifa, Aswat held the first public conference for Palestinian lesbians to mark its fifth anniversary.
The Associated Press report hailed the participants’ defiance of sexual taboos, especially in the face of “Islamist” protests. While much space was devoted to explain the participants’ views, the “Islamist” protestors were given a whitewashed depiction at best. They were simply described as women wearing “headscarves and long, loose robes” as though their ideology can be derived from their dress.
The AP report depicted the Israeli part of Haifa, where the conference was held, as more tolerant of homosexuality than Israeli-Arab towns. Yet the story remarkably failed to address the reactions of Christian and Orthodox Jewish groups to the conference.
Most media reports failed to note that skepticism about the conference and Aswat’s activism does not stem from perceived Islamic homophobia. Rather, there is some Arab concern about potential Israeli support of the Palestinian lesbian movement and how it can cause divisions within the Palestinian community. According to Albawaba website the International Committee for LGBT Human Rights has asked Israeli authorities and religious groups to provide security and protection during the conference.
It’s doubtful that Aswat can win the hearts and minds of the Palestinian/Arab/Muslim communities given this potential alliance.
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