----- Original Message -----
From: CAIR
Sent: Monday, August 11, 2008 7:20 PM
Subject: Veiled Athletes Challenge Stereotypes in Beijing
Veiled Athletes Challenge Stereotypes in Beijing
Posted 8/11/2008 3:14:00 PM
Related Information
Source: Reuters
Author: Catherine Bremer
The women in Roqaya Al Ghasara's home town in Bahrain are so proud of their
pioneering Olympic sprinter that some of them got together to design and sew a
set of tailor-made aerodynamic veils for her to run in.
Egyptian fencer Shaimaa El Gammal, a third-timer at the Olympics, will don
Islamic headgear in Beijing for the first time. She says it is a sign she is
come of age and she feels more empowered than ever.
This year's Games will see a sizable sprinkling of veiled athletes who are
determined to avoid offending devout Muslims back home while showing skimpily
dressed rivals there is nothing constricting about wearing a hijab.
Two of them, Bahrain's Al Ghasara and veiled Iranian rower Homa Hosseini, won
the honor of being flag bearers for their countries at the opening ceremony's
parade of athletes.
"The hijab has never been a problem for me. In Bahrain you grow up with it,"
said Al Ghasara, wearing a white baseball cap over a black veil that covers her
hair and neck. Her baggy running gear exposes only her face and hands.
"There are more women in sport all the time from countries like Qatar and
Kuwait. You can choose to wear the hijab or not. For me it's liberating," added
Al Ghasara, whose close-fitting running veils come in red or white, the
Bahraini colors.
Proud to be Muslim
This year an unprecedented half a dozen Egyptian athletes, three Iranians, an
Afghan and a Yemeni will compete with covered heads like Al Ghasara. They say
they want to inspire other women in their countries to break away from Muslim
stereotypes.
"People see us wearing the scarf and think we ride camels. But Muslim women can
do anything they want," said El Gammal, a bubbly 28-year-old whose sister will
compete in the same event, also wearing Islamic head cover.
"When I fence I'm proud that I'm a Muslim. It's very symbolic for women in my
country," El Gammal told Reuters.
Beijing's athletes' village has laid on halal food for the hundreds of Muslims
staying there, but it only has a mosque for men, despite scores of Muslim
women, mostly bare-headed, from countries such as Tunisia, Iran and Pakistan.
The Gulf nations of United Arab Emirates and Oman have sent women athletes to
the 2008 Olympics for the first time. Three Iranian women, in headscarves, will
compete in rowing, taekwondo and archery. Afghanistan has veiled sprinter
Robina Muqimyar running the 100 meters.
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Islam is the only solution.
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