The 2008 Olympics opened in Beijing with much fanfare and an incredible opening ceremony. I found myself glued to my seat from start to finish. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the teams from all 204 participating nations enter proudly, holding their flags, waving their flags, taking their own photos, talking on their cell phones, never forgetting the feeling of pride knowing the world is watching on as they were the chosen ones to represent their country.
The all-male Saudi delegation entered looking very Royal and carrying the flag proudly and high. And yes, you read that right — all-male. Now come on…did anyone reading this post really expect that Saudi would have a female Olympic contender as part of their team…yet? Don’t forget, physical education is not even part of the regular program (if at all) for female students in the Kingdom.
Which does make one wonder….how many Saudi females would like to have the chance to compete as an Olympian? What kind of sports would they likely pursue that would still be viewed as acceptable in that a muslim woman can compete while maintaining her modesty?
So what about the rest of the Arab world competing in the Olympics? Did they have women on their teams? Yes; they did and usually had a woman athlete carrying the flag proudly as well. It was a pleasure seeing the Arab athletes from Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and elsewhere. Iran also had women as part of its Olympic team as did even conservative Afghanistan!
So I’ll close this impromptu post in wishing the Saudi team well and hope that the lack of female contenders on the Saudi team will at least help open the eyes to initiating athletic programs for women in the school systems here…as a start.
And I ask for those especially who are Saudi and reading this post to share your views and thoughts about whether Saudi women should be given the opportunity to participate in future Olympics for the Kingdom.
Filed under: gender, Saudi Arabia, Saudi culture, Saudi customs | 53 Comments »
