Saudi Girls Make Traction Toward Equality On the Athletic Field

by Christina Carr · 2009-07-06 12:17:00 UTC
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Exciting news for aspiring female athletes in Saudi Arabia: an eight-year-old girl recently asked Prince Khaled al-Faisal, a powerful Saudi prince and the governor of Mecca, why she was not allowed to play sports in school like the boys can. The response?  The prince stated that he hoped that state-run schools would soon allow playing fields for girls.

Prince Khaled al-Faisal's statement is arguably the strongest-yet government endorsement for such equality in a place where even physical education classes are banned for females in government-run schools and where female athletes are not permitted to participate in the Olympics. In addition, Princess Adelah, the daughter of King Abdullah, has also recently made a public statement advocating for the introduction of sports in girls' schools as a way to address the "rise in diseases linked to obesity and lack of movement."

The Saudi Arabian ban on many sports-related activities for females is becoming a controversial issue in the country. Some attempt to reason that sports activity can damage a woman's hymen, and therefore ruin her chances of getting married, and argue that limiting women's physical activities can help to prevent this. However, there has been some recent progress, and some women are beginning to come together to form sports teams and leagues that remain largely underground.

With growing government support in addition to these quiet underground movements, that eight-year-old girl may soon have the chance to "play sports like the boys.

Christina Carr
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